Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly took aim at “power brokers” and special interest groups during his 2026 State of the County Address this week.
Echoing sentiments he has maintained since he took office in 2022, Cassilly, a Republican running for reelection this year, said during a Tuesday evening speech that he would not give into outside influences, which he has said hold undue power in local politics.
Cassilly has fought major developments such as warehouses at the Perryman Peninsula, warehouse space at Abingdon Woods, and apartments in Forest Hill. He cites the preservation of Harford County’s quality of life as a reason for pushing back against large development and said during the county’s latest comprehensive rezoning that he did not recommend any residential properties receive an increase in zoning density.
Critics have said that Cassilly’s targeting of development has hindered the county’s economic growth and harmed the county’s relationship with businesses that could bring jobs to the area. But Cassilly said Tuesday that he was protecting the interests of county residents.
“As your county executive, doing the right thing has been my guiding light for the past three years,” Cassilly said. “Always do right for the county that I was born in and love and always do right for the great people who live and work in this county – that’s who I am working for. Not for any powerful insiders, but for the people that want safe communities, good schools, good jobs, good quality of life that includes open space.”
He said that the state of Harford County is “strong” and outlined a number of accomplishments, advancements and areas of the county that he has worked to improve.
Public safety
Over the past three years, Cassilly said he has funded “competitive salaries and benefits” for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, based on recommendations outlined in each salary study conducted by Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.
Gahler and Cassilly have disputed funding of the sheriff’s office in each of Cassilly’s budgets, with Gahler claiming Cassilly does not support law enforcement and Cassilly claiming that the sheriff’s requests are unaffordable and will result in tax increases.
Cassilly touted the growth in the county-run ambulance service, which now has 17 ambulances and responds to about 30,000 calls each year. He said the response for ambulance service is less than eight minutes, an improvement over the past few years.
Land preservation and open space
Harford County has a few major parks and recreation projects on the horizon. Cassilly touched on the county’s continued planning for Oakington Peninsula Park – an over 1,200-acre, waterfront park system between Aberdeen and Havre de Grace.
He also said the county has purchased 129 acres in Joppatowne for fields and parkland, has upgraded Annie’s Playground in Fallston, is moving forward with the construction of five new playgrounds in Fallston, and is pursuing the renovation of sports fields in Hickory and Edgewood.
Through the county’s land preservation program, Cassilly said his administration has preserved 4,536 acres of farmland and purchased over 200 acres of open space for both passive and active recreation.
Economic growth and development
Cassilly said his approach to economic growth in Harford County is not to trade farmland and forests for new development but to build and expand the county’s workforce.
“Instead of unbridled development, Harford’s economic future is in our small businesses, expanding high-tech manufacturing sector,” Cassilly said. “Our future does not lie in compromising our quality of life, but improving it.”
Cassilly noted that his administration is working on the county’s master plan for the next 10 years, which he said will be focused on growing the county’s economy while preserving quality of life.
Education
Cassilly has faced criticism in years past after not fully funding budget requests from the Board of Education.
Despite the criticism, he said Tuesday that teachers within Harford County Public School teachers have “gotten raises every year” and said the county is on track to achieve the $60,000 starting salary for teachers, as mandated by the State’s Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education funding initiative.
He said during the address that he is prepared to offer the Board of Education a 6.5% budget increase. But the school system proposed a budget this week that would ask the county for a 15.5% increase.
In a news release Tuesday evening, Cassilly called the budget proposal “outlandish” and said funding the request would require a tax increase. The school system said the money would primarily go toward adding roughly 91 positions, most of them designated for prekindergarten through second grade and multilingual learners.
Looking ahead to the FY27 budget
Cassilly said his next budget, the fiscal 2027 budget, will “once again be responsible” — saying that about half of his annual budget goes toward education, and a third goes toward public education and the rest funds county operations.
He said entities outside of the county — specifically, the school system and the sheriff’s office — will “demand” funding increases from the county budget which can be covered only by increasing taxes, Cassilly said.
He emphasized that he will not increase taxes and is committed to working with council members to find efficiencies in spending, and county operations.
“I stood up to the powerful few and trust me, it would have been a whole lot easier to go along, to get along,” Cassilly said. “I am not going to be bullied but I will take the heat from the power brokers and remain focused on our core values — fiscal responsibility, public safety, quality education, economic strength, protecting our seniors and our children and realizing opportunities that we have for our citizens to live in the greatest nation on God’s green Earth, the United States of America.”
Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.
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