By a unanimous vote last week, the Harford County Council overturned County Executive Bob Cassilly’s veto of a bill that would give county employees the right to consult with a neutral arbitrator about their county contracts.

The bill, which was introduced by Democratic council member Jacob Bennett in September, aims to give county union employees the right to binding arbitration. The bill specifically limits arbitration rights to “certain grievances related to the interpretation, implementation, enforcement or application of terms of memorandum” in county employee contracts.

Cassilly called the bill “unlawful and costly,” claiming the bill went against the county’s charter and that arbitration processes would cost the county money. He vetoed it two weeks after it was passed by a 6-1 council vote.

During a 10-minute special session Dec. 15, the council overrode Cassilly’s veto 7-0, and dozens of meeting attendees applauded. Harford County now joins Washington, Allegany and Garrett counties in having binding arbitration for county employees.

Despite the override, Cassilly’s administration said the charter — which Cassilly said the bill violates — can “not legally be ignored.”

But Republican council member Tony Giangiordano, who initially voted against the bill, said he changed his position since the bill fills a void in both the county code and charter have regarding employee grievances with union contracts.

Giangiordano said county employee grievances are defined by the county charter as “a dispute over the interpretation of the personnel code, regulations or policies.” He said grievances are handled by the Personnel Advisory Board, but employee grievances with their union contracts are not covered by the charter’s current process.

“As a result, disputes arising under those agreements do not fall within the grievance procedure outlined [in the charter],” Giangiordano said. “Both the code and the charter are silent on how alleged breaches of those agreements are to be resolved.”

Opposition to the addition of binding arbitration centered around the cost associated with the arbitration process. Council member James Reilly, a Republican, questioned who would foot the bill.

Council Attorney Meaghan Alegi said it would be up to the county executive and the unions to decide. Bennett said the bill purposefully avoids addressing some details of how the process will work, including timelines for arbitration and who will pay the costs.

“And that gives the county executive authority on what should best work rather than us saying to the county executive, ‘Here are the parameters for which you must have binding arbitration,’” Bennett said.

Prior to the council’s special session, Council President Patrick Vincenti — a Republican who is running against Cassilly for county executive in 2026 — said in a video on social media that the council is “fully committed to holding the current and all future county executives accountable” to the promises and contracts they enter with employees. He said the legislation brings accountability and requires both elected and appointed officials to keep their word.

“[Cassilly’s administration] have repeatedly failed to keep their commitments to the public, to our workforce, and we are seeing the direct and damaging consequences of that failure across the county,”  Vincenti said.

In a statement on social media, Cassilly largely took aim at Vincenti, saying Vincenti chose to “bend to political pressure instead of standing strong” for taxpayers. He doubled down on his claim that the bill violates the charter, and he said the county’s workforce did not ask for the bill and that it “came from politicians courting union bosses.”

“Voters know the truth, Mr. Vincenti is pandering for the financial and political support of statewide government unions who are anxious to unleash their big-city politics on Harford County,” Cassilly wrote. “Our citizens are not fooled by Mr. Vincenti’s claim that he is merely protecting county employees, who already have a fair and time-tested process for resolving employment disputes at no cost to taxpayers.”

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