Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler is calling out another Harford official for writing pages of movie quotes instead of paying attention to a law enforcement budget hearing in April.
The sheriff made a public records request to see the notes that Harford County Director of Administration Rob McCord made during the April 24 hearing, and the results show McCord repeatedly wrote quotes from the movie “The Shining” in French, filling almost an entire page.
McCord’s handwritten notes show repeated lines of “travailler sans s’amuser fait de Jack un garçon ennuyeux,” which is French for “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” — a famous line from an iconic scene in the 1980 horror film.
Gahler said he submitted the records request for McCord’s notes to understand how the county government “feels about law enforcement.”
“I was sitting there, speaking about things for one hour relating to our salary needs, related to our capital project needs, relating to our staffing needs and he is over there doodling,” Gahler said. “I think this release demonstrates exactly what they think of law enforcement — that the whole thing is a joke.”
McCord is among the top five highest-paid directors in county government, netting an annual salary of $167,483 in fiscal 2025. In his capacity as the director of administration, McCord serves as the county’s budget officer and is responsible for providing management and support services to all county departments and agencies, according to the county’s website.
Department budget hearings are a crucial part of the county’s annual budget process as the hearings allow each department funded by the county to present its budgetary needs to the Harford County Council and administration. McCord attended all four days of the department budget hearings to understand budgetary needs and help advise County Executive Bob Cassilly on what his budgetary priorities should be.
Asked about McCord’s notes amid a highly contentious budget cycle that was riddled with controversy between Cassilly and Gahler over law enforcement funding, Chief of Executive Staff Joe Cluster said on behalf of Cassilly that the county does not have a policy on “doodling” and that “doodling is neither encouraged nor discouraged” during meetings.
“According to Google: ‘people doodle for a variety of reasons, primarily related to stress relief, enhancing focus, and sparking creativity,’” Cluster wrote in a statement to The Baltimore Sun. “Based on that insight, the county administration sees no reason to discourage doodling, in any language.”
Cluster noted that the handwritten notes of county employees are not reported to the county executive and are not made part of any deliberative process in the budget.
Gahler also submitted a records request two years ago, asking for McCord’s handwritten notes after Cassilly canceled plans for a new police precinct that had already been approved by the prior county executive.
Since the project’s cancellation, Gahler has voiced many criticisms of the Cassilly administration through social media and news releases, primarily over Cassilly’s funding decisions and treatment of law enforcement.
Gahler has made numerous records requests to the county and claims to have not received a response to his initial requests for McCord’s handwritten notes from the past two annual budget hearings, among other requested documents.
The Republican sheriff called McCord’s notes “funny in the sense that it’s so absurd” and said elected and appointed officials alike have a responsibility to focus on their jobs.
“I would hope that constituents have concerns that a person making a nice, six-digit salary at their expense, chooses to spend an hour of his time doodling,” Gahler said. “If this is how he spends the rest of his 40-hour workweek — practicing French or writing these Satanic comments — this is concerning.”
Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.
Leave A Comment