From Citizens for Bob Cassilly:
Dear Friends,
You have no doubt seen the sheriff’s attacks on my “no new taxes” budget and his intense criticism of my fiscally conservative policies.
For the 8 years prior to my election as County Executive, I was the lead opponent in the State Senate against every anti-police bill, earning awards of appreciation from police agencies statewide. Sheriff Gahler said just last year, “Senator Bob Cassilly is the statewide leader in the fight to support our deputies and police officers.”
Now, it is very disappointing to see our sheriff attack my fiscally responsible FY24 County budget as “defunding the police.” Having seen the sheriff confront anti-police opponents in the General Assembly with far more measured tones, I don’t understand his fierce rhetoric toward a fellow Republican. Particularly as the sheriff’s exorbitant budget demands would require tax hikes on Harford County families, as I explain below,
The chart below shows the sheriff’s budget requests and funding since 2008.
After years of modest budget increases in the range of $3M-$4M per year, the sheriff’s budget was increased dramatically in the 2023 election year by a record $16.2M, as politics prevailed over sound fiscal policy. At the start of the budget process this year, I met in good faith with the sheriff and explained that our County cannot sustain such a high rate of growth and he needed to adjust to a more reasonable growth rate. I was, therefore, astonished when the sheriff presented a proposed budget increase of $28.5M above the previous record funding. In response, I proposed a budget increase of $6.8M, the highest-ever budget increase for the sheriff’s office outside of the record, political budget of 2023.
The sheriff suggests that a tax increase is not necessary to fund his extreme budget request. Instead, he apparently wants me to blindly assume that the Biden economy will yield growth and tax revenue far above the estimates given by our County Treasurer and the independent experts on the county Budget Affordability Committee. It would be highly irresponsible for me to override the spending recommendations made by these independent experts who were appointed by the previous county administration and whose recommendations were not challenged by the sheriff during the eight years of the prior administration.
Keeping our families safe will always be my highest priority, but no part of our county government is above responsible fiscal policies. Given these uncertain economic times, a current budget deficit of over $60M, and the requests by the sheriff and teachers’ unions to add another $62M to our deficit, I have delayed moving forward on the sheriff’s request to construct an expensive new training center and central precinct in Aberdeen at an estimated cost of $28M. The sheriff is adamant that this facility must be constructed immediately, without delay, to replace the current training facility located at Harford Community College, a facility that just successfully graduated a record size class from a building that is far newer and less crowded than some of our public schools.
While I am working hard to reduce government expenses, it appears the sheriff is unwilling to cooperate in that effort. In addition to his request to create a new police training academy outside of Harford Community College, the sheriff hired two senior attorneys for his own office, at a cost of nearly $400,000 a year to taxpayers, even though the sheriff and all other county agencies have always utilized the County Law Department to provide them with legal services. He has also proposed COLAs for his uniformed and civilian employees that are 10 times those proposed for all other county employees.
Voters elected me to stop spending beyond our means. While I’d like to meet all the funding requests of our law enforcement, teachers, and other county agencies and departments, it cannot be at the cost of increased taxes to local residents. Just like our taxpayers, we must establish and fund the essential needs.
While I will not be held hostage by political agendas, demands for higher taxes, or requests for non-essential projects, my door remains open to discussing amendments to my proposed budget. However, the sheriff and anyone else requesting substantial budget increases in one area will need to identify offsetting budget cuts in other areas to ensure a balanced and fiscally responsible budget.
Please make sure to come voice your support for this responsible budget! Budget public hearings will be held on May 4 and 10, 2023, 7:00 PM at 212 S. Bond St, Bel Air, MD 21014. You must be registered by the start of the FY Budget Public Hearing if you want to provide comments at the hearing. It is strongly recommended you pre-register by mailing Council@harfordcountycouncil.com or calling 410-638-3343 by 5:00 PM the day of the scheduled hearing.
Looking forward to working together to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars,
Bob
I say B.S.
Why?
How can you say that the sheriff’s department doesn’t need lawyers???!!! Especially in today’s attacks on law enforcement. Seems like the sheriff should have an entire team of lawyers, not just two.
The Sheriff DOES have an entire team of lawyers-he is represented by the County Law Department. Why? Because it’s the County (taxpayer) on the hook if money has to be paid.
Cassilly friends speak for the county executive. Why doesn’t he speak for himself. Looks like Harford County has elected someone who is hiding behind a right wing group afraid to show the voters who he really is.
What the Sheriff and all of us need are more citizens concerned less about their own instant gratification and more about building an actual sustainable community. We need to educate our well-meaning blue-leaning friends who are too afraid to have standards and step up and point out bad policy, excuses, and unsustainable civic behaviors. We also need to point out red-leaning sellouts who just want a fake job in bureaucracy funded by vested interests rather than community-minded people for the people. The Sheriff’s Office doesn’t need an “entire team of lawyers”. It just needs not be hampered with politically-driven mandates while also not needing to lean on the department to keep us safe from the burgeoning criminal element cultivated by society with decaying values, families, and institutions. Harford County needs not to import The City’s values. We need to export Harford County. We all need to be better people. (I know I do.) Be better family members. Be better friends. Pay it forward whenever we can. Don’t drop our standards. Hep raise others. Stay strong. Stay sane. Stay motivated. Keep giving a shit.
What we need is public safety and once Cassilly ends that, this county is done.
Amazing how some people can only understand their own thinking but not someone else’s. They want to educate on one hand but take away the budget for schools on the other hand. Talk about ignorance in it’s highest form.
To these narrow minded people they can only see today and the future be dammed.
Not sure who sounds more self-entitled – teachers or cops? Later this year our economy is going to be in recession or worse, inflation gives every indication it will continue and yet here they are demanding more money when in reality both groups received far more than their fair share in covid monies and seemingly have no idea where it went and very clearly spent none of it on wages for their employees. They want fat raises paid for by elderly taxpayers who are struggling to buy groceries.
How about the EMS personnel.. Are they self seekers as well. Seems they are cut in the budget also.
What inflation. When I buy groceries they are almost back to before the pandemic. Gasoline is almost there as well.
As far as recession the economy isn’t causing that. It’s the feds.
Now there are bank failures. Seems they are run as if Cassilly were in charge of running the banks.
Where do you shop for groceries?
I’ve seen the prices continually going up, not almost back to before the pandemic.
I get the same stuff every month, and my grocery bill has more than doubled.
Jumbo eggs. $2.49 a dozen. Month ago were $5.39. Gasoline $3.35 a gallon. February were $5.plus a gallon. Meat has come down. Chicken is down. Everything is coming down.
What hasn’t come down.
Regardless of where recession originated its real and it’s coming. To demand big budget increases in the same year were about to take a big dip is myopic and selfish.
I support Cassilly on this. No tax hikes. “Voters elected me to stop spending beyond our means.” The Sheriff needs to make it work. It would be nice if all of us could just demand more money when it’s clear we are overspending.
Live within your means, Sheriff.
LOL, make sure your employer hears this… want that raise?
Don’t raise prices to cover those expenses! Live within your means!
Sorry, these arguments are the stuff of comedy or a delusional world. Let me guess; you want better results for less? Name an industry this is true.
Tell you what. I think it was Ben Franklin that said, ‘penny wise, pound foolish’.
From what I have read I haven’t seen any publications that said Cassilly had to raise taxes to support the sheriff, the HCPS and EMS. He claims that income to the county will be down, but that is a projection with no evidence that said taxes had to be raised.
Is this what some of you call responsible governing. Ditching one property for a more expensive property. This sounds like an investigation of who owns that property.
“There’s been no commitment by the county executive other than he wanted us to look at some other property that cost twice as much to build brand new. In our opinion, it would cost twice as much to do that project,” said Gahler, “I think that was a red herring by him to push this can down the road. I don’t think he had any intention of doing this project from Day One.”
Everybody wants more money while continuing to do business as usual, in an economy that sucks.
Reduce the HCSO expenses by reducing crime.
The court should be putting criminals away instead of cutting pea deals, and there would be less repeat offenders running around continuing to commit crimes.
Reduce the HCPS expenses by reducing corruption.
The school system should be cutting their inflated contracts to their “preferred” contractors who use illegitimate sub-contractors, and put everything out for proper bidding, like they should be doing.
Yes cut and put in jail those that waste taxpayers money.
There we start with Cassilly who used taxpayers dollars for lawyer, court fees, and going all the way to MD Supreme Court on a frivolous and what seemed like a personnel vendetta against an elected official.
The county’s figure for this year’s funding is $21 million below HCPS’s actual funding for this year. So, the county is over-stating the increase from this year to next year by $21 million. HCPS that they learned about the error and notified the county today.
Seems Cassilly has learned a lot from FOX news.
Cassilly didn’t seem to care about taxpayer dollars when he unsuccessfully litigated over a duly-elected County Councilmember he wanted removed from office How much money did that waste?
A disappointment on so many levels.
Cassilly is only laying down a small speed bump on the super highway of government growth. Calm down…every flat budget ain’t the end of the world.
What flat budget? Vegas Bob is spending like no one before! Record level spending is the truth, just not the soundbite.