BEL AIR, Md. — Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly is in another public spat with Councilman Aaron Penman.
This time the two are exchanging barbs, accusing one another of potential wrongdoing while in office.
The County Executive says Penman is attacking his "character and integrity," by lodging "untrue and outrageous" allegations.
According to Cassilly, Penman falsely alleges that he signed a land use agreement for a family member.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Cassilly denied reviewing or signing the agreement.
He insists the director of his administration approved it. Cassilly though opined that it would have been legal had he chosen to sign instead.
"Once a plat - which is a plan for land use - meets all applicable regulations and is approved by county departments, the county executive or his designee is legally obligated to sign it. This is required by the Harford County Code and is not subject to his discretion," Cassilly said. "However, because this plat involved a family member, it was not reviewed by County Executive Cassilly. Instead, it was reviewed in due course without any favoritism and signed on his behalf by the director of administration"
Meanwhile, Penman is reportedly facing an ethics complaint of his own over his active current status as a sergeant with the Harford County Sheriff's Office.
On February 26 County Attorney Jefferson Blomquist wrote a letter to Harford County's Board of Ethics, asking them to weigh in on whether Penman can serve on the Council while also being employed by the Sheriff's Office.
After initially being elected to the Harford County Council, Penman separated from the Sheriff's Office.
He was later rehired after the Maryland Supreme Court ruled in favor of fellow councilman Jacob Bennett in a similar dispute.
Bennett, a Harford County Public School teacher, also faced questions whether he could sit on the Council while working for the school system.
The state's Supreme Court ultimately determined Bennett was allowed to do both because the school system is not considered a county agency.
Penman is now using the same defense.
Even if the Ethics Board sides with Penman, Blomquist is asking if he should be permitted to vote on future matters involving the Sheriff’s Office budget.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office previously refused to offer a legal opinion, saying it was a county not state matter.
Blomquist cites Penman's past support for a new Sheriff's Office training academy, which at one time was a point of contention between Cassilly and Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.
It's not the first time Cassilly and Penman have gone at it.
Last May, Penman accused Cassilly's administration of misappropriating $7 million from the County's general fund to the Department of Emergency Services.
The County Treasurer ultimately took responsibility for the unauthorized move, and eventually had the money transferred back.
Then in July Penman claimed the County Executive was monitoring his phone and email conversations with Gahler and Cassilly's predecessor Barry Glassman.
At the time Cassilly said people using County electronic devices didn't have "any expectation of privacy as to information conveyed through the use of such information technology." He also contended "the County has the right at any time to inspect all electronically stored information on such technology devices."
The allegations against Cassilly were later referred to the State Prosecutor's Office for review. There's no word on how that inquiry panned out.
