BEL AIR, Md. — Plans for a third police precinct and a new training facility, already approved to the tune of more than $22 million last May, have been shelved in Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly’s proposed budget, and Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler isn’t happy about it.
“I’ve met with the county executive both before he came into office and after and each time, I’ve heard different things from him to the point where I’m 100 percent convinced, he’s just not being honest,” said Gahler.
For his part, Cassilly is downplaying their differences.
“I can’t explain, to be quite frank with you, why we’re going through the vitriol of defunding police and the like,” said Cassilly, “We’ll continue to work together.”
Cassilly says he is not obliged to meet a commitment from a former county council that left him with a $90 million structural deficit.
“These are tough choices you know and I respect the sheriff that he wants the best for the men and women of the sheriff’s department, and they deserve the best, but so do the children, so do the teachers, so do the old folks,” said Cassilly, “Everybody deserves the best.”
Cassilly’s proposed spending plan also cuts more than $19 million from the school district’s budget drawing criticism that it’s setting students up to fail.
The county executive also has called for setting aside $13 million to replace the volunteer EMS service in the ever-growing county, but expanding the reach of police service apparently will have to wait.
“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.”
