Cecil Times

08/12/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Jackie Gregory Wins Split Vote for Cecil County Council President; Meffley Wins VEEP Slot after Gregory Push for Culberson Fails

NEWS ANALYSIS

It was the first meeting of the new Cecil County Council, with a 3-2 majority of close political allies of County Executive Danielle Hornberger elected in November, but things didn’t exactly go to plan at the 12/6/2022 worksession. Long moments of silence, accompanied by overheard stage whispers and visible head shakes, thwarted Jackie Gregory’s push to assert full control of the Council by getting herself elected President and ally Donna Culberson as vice president. (Gregory won, Culberson didn’t.)

Surprise moment of silent independence came from new Councilor Rebecca Hamilton, who wordlessly thwarted Gregory plan for total control of Council. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/12/jackie-gregory-wins-split-vote-for-cecil-county-council-president-meffley-wins-veep-slot-after-gregory-push-for-culberson-fails/

16/11/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Sammons Pressures State GOP to Ban McCarthy, Bowlsbey, Coutz on Local Party Panel; Questions on Role of Haire, State Chair and Hornberger Ally

It’s a good thing that Ronald Reagan, the late President and conservative Republican hero, never sought a seat on the Cecil County Republican Central Committee. If he had lived here, he wouldn’t qualify under retroactive sanctions now being proposed to ban anyone who ever donated to a Democrat or challenged a GOP nominee, before they were even sworn in to the local committee. (Reagan was a Democratic Party activist and donor before switching to the Republican side.)

A move to nullify the decisions of county Republican voters—who elected Alan McCarthy, Joyce Bowlsbey and William Coutz to seats on the GOP Central Committee in the July primary but who have not yet been sworn into office—is being led by Vincent Sammons, the multiple online personality and political gadfly. (Sammons, an on again, off again chairman of the local panel got himself installed as chairman again at a secret meeting in August, filing documents with the state Board of Elections (BOE) proclaiming his chairman title effective 8/6/2022. )

Sammons declared in a statement posted on the committee’s page that the three seats had been declared vacant by the state party and invited local Republicans to apply for the seats. But his claim is in question, since none of the supposedly ousted members have received any formal notice from Dirk Haire, the chairman of the state Republican Party. (Haire is a Danielle Hornberger ally who served as her attorney in a court case filed by McCarthy challenging the validity of her campaign finance statement in the 2020 campaign for county executive.)

An email from Sammons to McCarthy included an attachment of a letter purportedly written by Haire on 11/10/2022. But the grammar, wording and bylaws citations of the letter seem inconsistent with Haire’s profile as an attorney and experienced political operative. (Haire is also chairman of his wife’s million dollar campaign for Anne Arundel County Executive in a race considered still too close to call. Danielle Hornberger’s own political committee donated $6,000, the state legal maximum, to Jessica Haire’s campaign.)

READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/11/sammons-pressures-state-gop-to-throw-mccarthy-bowlsbey-coutz-off-county-party-committee-despite-winning-seats-in-primary-questions-on-role-of-haire-state-chair-and-hornberger-ally/

NEWS ANALYSIS It’s a good thing that Ronald Reagan, the late President and conservative Republican hero, never sought a seat on the Cecil County Rep...

09/11/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Strong Election Day Turnout in Cecil County, Mail-In Ballots Not Yet Tallied; Initial Results Show Likely Dixon School Board Win

Cecil County voters turned out in force for in-person voting on Tuesday (11/8/2022), but the final outcomes of multiple races will not be determined until the completion of the next week and a half of scheduled Board of Elections (BOE) counts of mail-in and provisional ballots. But initial counts in the District 4 school board contest indicate an upset win for Renee Dixon over incumbent William Malesh.

In two County Council races with organized write-in vote campaigns, the mechanics of vote counting showed totals of all write-ins from in-person early voting and Election Day ballots but did not yet allocate any votes to the declared write-in candidates. (Ballot scanners automatically register marked ovals indicating a write-in vote was being cast, but a separate BOE staff review is required to allocate those votes to candidates who have formally qualified under election rules to be counted by name.)

But the initial counts indicate that even when write in votes are eventually counted, the uphill challenges to winners of the Republican primary in Districts 2 and 4 are unlikely to succeed.

Hawley headed toward retaining school board seat but Malesh appears out.

READ IT on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/11/strong-election-day-turnout-in-cecil-county-mail-in-ballots-not-yet-tallied-initial-results-show-likely-dixon-school-board-win/

08/11/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Cecil County Votes: County Council, School Board Races, Charter Changes Top Election Issues; Mail-in Ballot Count to be Delayed

Cecil County voters go to the polls for in-person voting on Tuesday (11/8/2022) to decide three County Council races, three school board contests, and several county Charter proposed changes, but the final outcome of the voter decisions will not be known for more than a week. The local Board of Elections (BOE) will not even begin to count mail-in ballots until Thursday, two days after Election Day.

Complicating the election tally is the unusual presence of two write-in candidates for County Council who have gone through the official candidate registration process that will require the BOE to count and record their votes. Scanners will identify a marked oval for a write in candidate, but BOE staff will have to review the ballot to record the name, according to Doug Walker, the Cecil County BOE director.

Nearly 7,000 mail-in ballots were requested by voters, with a majority sought by Democrats. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/11/cecil-county-votes-county-council-school-board-races-charter-changes-top-local-election-contests-mail-in-ballot-count-to-be-delayed/

02/11/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Andy Harris, GOP $ Turn “Nonpartisan” School Board Races into Political Power Grab; New Annapolis PAC Push for Partisan Control of Cecil Co Schools

Campaigns for seats on the five-member Cecil County Board of Education are, by law, nonpartisan and candidates usually run low budget, mostly self-financed campaigns. But not this year, when Republican elected officials and a new political action committee created by former County Finance Director James Appel are promoting three GOP-aligned school board candidates on the general election ballot. Rep. Andy Harris (R-1) gave the PAC the maximum donation allowed by law, according to state Board of Elections records.

Direct donations by County Executive Danielle Hornberger and her closest local political ally, County Councilor Jackie Gregory, indicate they are looking to install new school board members who will side with them on fiscal and other issues. In her two budgets as county executive, Hornberger provided the bare minimum level of school funds required by state law, after cutting budget proposals submitted by the current school board. If her allies take over a majority of the board, they could cut the proposed schools budget for her, before it even reaches her desk, so she would not have to take political responsibility for school spending cuts in the overall county budget. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/11/andy-harris-gop-turn-nonpartisan-school-board-races-into-political-power-grab-false-claims-new-annapolis-pac-push-for-partisan-control-of-cecil-co-schools/

NEWS ANALYSIS Campaigns for seats on the five-member Cecil County Board of Education are, by law, nonpartisan and candidates usually run low budget, mostl...

27/10/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Cecil Co Charter Changes on Ballot Aim to Fix County Exec Issues; State Question Would Close Kevin Hornberger Residency Loophole

NEWS ANALYSIS

As in-person early voting in the General Election began on Thursday (10/27/2022), Cecil County voters will decide five local Charter amendments, including changes in selection of Ethics Commission members and requiring greater “transparency” on spending and real estate deals by the County Executive. The proposals are designed to address problems that emerged in the first two years of Danielle Hornberger’s administration.

In addition, a proposed amendment to the State Constitution (Question 2) would require a state Delegate or Senator to “maintain” residency withing the boundaries of the district from which he/she was elected. Delegate Kevin Hornberger, Danielle’s husband, lived outside the boundaries of his former District 35-A, according to state land records, financial disclosure statements and sworn mortgage refinancing documents. He got away with using his parents’ address for years because no one challenged his residency within the limited less than two-week window for challenges to the State Board of Elections after a candidate files for office. Currently, the state Constitution only specifies a requirement for district residency at the time of filing but is silent on maintaining residency after an election and for the duration of the four-year Delegate term. A ‘yes’ vote on this state question would close the loophole.
READ it on CECIL TIMES here:

http://ceciltimes.com/2022/10/cecil-co-charter-changes-on-ballot-aim-to-fix-county-exec-issues-state-question-would-close-kevin-hornberger-residency-loophole/

NEWS ANALYSIS As in-person early voting in the General Election began on Thursday (10/27/2022), Cecil County voters will decide five local Charter amendme...

09/09/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Former County Council President Joyce Bowlsbey Files Write-in Challenge to new Nominee Hamilton in Dist. 2; “Experience Matters” Motto for General Election

Joyce Bowlsbey, the former President of the Cecil County Council and a longtime leader in many county civic organizations, has filed as a write-in candidate in the November general election, seeking to reclaim her District 2 Council seat that she held for six years. She is opposing political newcomer Rebecca Hamilton, who won the recent Republican primary nomination for the seat as part of a “slate” of candidates financed largely by Del. Kevin Hornberger, the spouse of county executive Danielle Hornberger.

Bowlsbey joins another write-in candidate, Phyllis Kilby, an eight-year veteran of the Cecil County Board of Commissioners and a leader in farm and civic groups. Kilby is running in November for a County Council seat now held by Donna Culberson (R-4), who was appointed to her seat last year and recently won the Republican nomination for the general election on the same Hornberger-backed “slate.”

Bowlsbey cites lack of "checks and balances" in Hornberger administration and calls for binding arbitration to make sure deputies get treated fairly, contrary to Hornberger mistreatment of cops' contract. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/09/former-county-council-president-joyce-bowlsbey-files-write-in-challenge-to-new-nominee-hamilton-in-dist-2-experience-matters-motto-for-general-election-campaign/

25/08/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Kilby Files as Write-in Rival to Culberson in Cecil Co Council Race; Ex-Co Commissioner Challenges Hornberger “Mismanagement”

Phyllis Kilby, an eight-year veteran of the Cecil County Board of Commissioners and a leader in farm and civic groups, has filed with the Board of Elections (BOE) as a write-in candidate for the County Council seat now held by Donna Culberson (R-4), who was appointed to her seat last year and recently won the Republican nomination for the November general election.

Kilby faces an uphill fight, since her name will not appear on the printed ballot presented to voters. Instead, she will have to convince voters to write-in her name on the correct line for the District 4 Council race. By filing her write-in candidacy with the BOE, with required financial disclosures and campaign committee documentation, her write-in votes will be counted by the Board of Elections.

Kilby hits County Exec Danielle Hornberger for "mismanagement" and Culberson for puppet role on Council. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/08/kilby-files-as-write-in-rival-to-culberson-in-november-dist-4-cecil-county-council-race-former-county-commissioner-ag-leader-challenges-mismanagement-by-hornberger-admin/

03/08/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Low Turnout, Cox Crew, Secret $ and Slams Shaped Cecil County Primary; Miller Confirms Win to Return to Council

NEWS ANALYSIS

Low voter turnout, a confusing state election schedule that pushed the primary election to the dog days of summer, and secret campaign money that financed a slew of negative and juvenile, cartoonish glossy flyers combined to make the recently concluded local election the nastiest since the infamous nose-biting incident at the polls not that many years ago.

But the chief target of this year’s attacks, County Councilor Al Miller (R-3) survived, with 51.5 percent of the vote, and did so while walking the high road– without resorting to the sort of cheap shots orchestrated and financed by Del. Kevin Hornberger (R-35B). Kevin Hornberger assembled a “slate” of candidates trying to take over the Council to create a compliant majority to support his wife, Danielle Hornberger, the county executive whose $98,000 a year salary will be on the line in the 2024 election.

Still unknown: source of secret campaign $ used to pay for "slate" attack flyers. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/08/low-turnout-cox-crew-secret-and-slams-shaped-cecil-county-primary-miller-confirms-win-to-return-to-council/

28/07/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Al Miller Apparent Win on Cecil Council; Kevin Hornberger Squeaks By in Crowded Delegate Race with 61% of Voters Against Him; McCarthy Tops Sammons on GOP Panel

NEWS ANALYSIS
With all but a small handful of overseas and absentee votes left to count, Cecil County voters apparently returned County Councilor Al Miller (R-3) to a second term, with 51.3 percent of the vote, and rejected a vicious, negative attack campaign financed by Del. Kevin Hornberger (R-35B)—who narrowly won retention of his own seat in a three-way GOP primary race, despite over 61 percent of voters opposing Hornberger.

And in one of the more ironic political outcomes, former County Executive Alan McCarthy (R)– who lost his re-election bid two years ago to Danielle Hornberger, Kevin’s wife– won a seat on the county’s Republican Central Committee. McCarthy won 2,878votes, or 34 more votes than Vincent Sammons, a Hornberger ally, political trickster and agitator known for multiple online personalities. Sammons did get a seat on the nine-member panel, as the bottom vote-getter.

But two Hornberger-backed candidates for County Council won seats that will give Danielle Hornberger and her chief ally, Council vice president Jackie Gregory (R-5), effective control of the five-member Council as of December.
READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/07/al-miller-apparent-winner-for-cecil-county-council-kevin-hornberger-squeaks-by-in-crowded-delegate-primary-race-with-61-of-voters-against-him-mccarthy-tops-sammons-for-gop-committee/

NEWS ANALYSIS With all but a small handful of overseas and absentee votes left to count, Cecil County voters apparently returned County Councilor Al Mille...

20/07/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Del. Hornberger, Councilor Miller in Fights for Political Lives in GOP Primary; Council Control at Stake

If there is Karma in politics, Del. Kevin Hornberger (R-35B) is facing it: so confident of a re-election victory in a three-way race, he devoted much effort and political cash to promote allies of his wife, Cecil County Executive Danielle Hornberger, for the County Council in Tuesday’s Republican primary election. But he apparently failed to see the very real threat to his own legislative seat.

Kevin is just 43 votes ahead, with over 1,000 mail in votes yet to be counted. And the chief target of the Hornbergers’ avalanche of glossy, negative and untrue flyers, incumbent Councilor Al Miller (R-3), is just five votes behind his Hornberger hand-picked foe. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/07/del-hornberger-councilor-miller-in-fights-for-political-lives-in-gop-primary-landslide-wins-for-sheriff-adams-wills-register-nickle/

09/07/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Slates, Slams and $: Gregory Promotes Pals for Cecil County Council; “Slate” Flyers Push Lies, Paid for by Developers, Hornberger

NEWS ANALYSIS

Jackie Gregory (R-5), the vice president of the Cecil County Council, must have an acute case of insomnia, posting social media attacks on some of her fellow councilors and perceived political foes at all hours of the night. And when the sun comes up, she stars in glossy promotional mailers declaring she has a “need” for her preferred “slate” of candidates to sit with her on the Council.

What she isn’t saying is that the “Cecil Conservative Slate” of political newcomer candidates she is promoting is largely financed by out-of-county developers and financial transfers from Del. Kevin Hornberger (R-35B), a large donor to her own campaigns and the spouse of county executive Danielle Hornberger (R), a close ally of Gregory.

And she isn’t saying why her “slate” is particularly focused on attacking Councilor Al Miller (R-3), who is up for re-election this year, with flyers slamming him with false claims and juvenile caricatures and photoshopped images.

Are she and Danielle Hornberger afraid Miller would be a very strong candidate for county exec in two years? READ it all on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/07/slates-slams-and-gregory-promotes-pals-for-cecil-county-council-slate-flyers-push-false-claims-paid-for-by-developers-hornberger/

28/05/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Meffley’s Budget Guts Win $ for School Security, Other Councilors Cluck Like Backyard Chickens; Hornberger Pals Get Big Pay Boosts

NEWS ANALYSIS

The horror of the Texas school shooting had not yet reached national network newscasts when the Cecil County Council convened Tuesday (5/24/2022) to consider County Executive Danielle Hornberger’s proposed Fiscal 2023 budget. Four members were unwilling to offer any amendments or changes to the budget but Council President Bob Meffley (R-1) had a small surprise up his sleeve: a deal he cut hours before with Hornberger to provide $240,000 to county schools “small capital projects” outside the regular budget framework in a supplemental spending proposal to be submitted to the Council later in the year.

That amount is the precise figure needed to construct a secure vestibule at one county school. But it still leaves several county school buildings without the security upgrades deemed necessary by school facilities experts. For the past two years, Hornberger has denied school security funds.

But Hornberger had enough money in the new budget to pay for major pay raises for her top political allies, according to documents obtained by CECIL TIMES. County Attorney Lawrence Scott again tops the payroll list of county employees, getting a salary of $152,278. READ all about it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/05/meffleys-budget-guts-win-for-school-security-other-councilors-cluck-like-backyard-chickens-hornberger-pals-get-more-big-pay-boosts/

NEWS ANALYSIS The horror of the Texas school shooting had not yet reached national network newscasts when the Cecil County Council convened Tuesday (5/24/...

01/05/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Gov. Hogan Raises Flag for Bainbridge Economic Development; Del. Hornberger Secret Plan Threatens Rest of Project, $ Cut for Cecil County, Port Deposit

A CECIL TIMES Special Report

Redevelopment of the sprawling 1,185-acre Bainbridge site in Port Deposit, stalled for two decades by environmental and logistical problems, was celebrated by Gov. Hogan recently as a flag was raised on the first of three stages of the project that he praised as a model of economic development. But a last-minute provision secretly inserted into a parks bill by Del. Kevin Hornberger (R-35) could complicate or derail the next phase of the economic revitalization plan and, state legislative analysts say, jeopardize anticipated revenues to Cecil County and the town of Port Deposit.

In addition, the long wished-for re-use of the historic Tome School property—devastated by arsonists and looters over the years—is also in jeopardy under provisions that could prevent private re-development of that 50-acre portion of the Bainbridge site through historic preservation tax credits to save the classic façade of the school. And there is no assurance in the secret plan that the state would come up with taxpayer-provided money to create a state park on the property. Hornberger did not consult in advance with many key players in the Bainbridge project. READ it on CECIL TIMES here:
http://ceciltimes.com/2022/05/gov-hogan-raises-flag-at-bainbridge-to-mark-economic-development-but-del-hornberger-secret-plan-could-derail-next-phases-of-project-cut-for-cecil-county-port-deposit/

A CECIL TIMES Special Report Redevelopment of the sprawling 1,185-acre Bainbridge site in Port Deposit, stalled for two decades by environmental and logis...

19/04/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Cecil County Politics: State Elections Board Struggles on New Maps; Gregory Withdraws from Delegate Race; Cops Challenge Hornbergers’ Machine

NEWS ANALYSIS
In a season of court challenges to re-districting lines for legislative and congressional districts and extended candidate filing deadlines, the list of contenders for local and state offices was supposed to be set on Friday (4/15/2022), but the state Board of Elections is still having problems assigning some candidates to the proper district under the new maps. And two local contenders withdrew their candidacies on Monday while law enforcement challengers could pose pushback against Hornberger administration policies that limited cops’ pay.

At the same time, the non-partisan races for the local Board of Education show an emergent coalition of challenger candidates opposed to state COVID-related mask rules and state curriculum requirements. And the County Council contests include three candidates running together as pro-County Executive Danielle Hornberger allies on a joint ticket and fund-raising organization for the GOP primary.

Jackie Gregory pulls out of Dist 36 Delegate race; so two more years of Gregory on County Council. READ it on CECIL TIMES here:

http://ceciltimes.com/2022/04/cecil-county-politics-state-elections-board-struggles-on-new-maps-gregory-withdraws-from-delegate-race-cops-challenge-hornbergers-machine/

08/04/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Hornberger Admin Killed Longstanding Pay “Parity” in Cops Contract, Deputies Barred from Sharing in 6% Mid-Year Windfall Given Favored Few

News Analysis
The Hornberger administration demanded removal of a longstanding provision of Cecil County Sheriff’s Deputies’ union contracts that assured cops of receiving equal pay boosts given to other county workers, while the administration was secretly drafting new payscales and a plan to boost pay for other workers by 6 percent, or double the Deputies’ contract pay raise this year, documents show.

As a result, Deputies represented by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) lost their past pay protections and were frozen out of much higher pay hikes given recently to other, non-union county employees who do not risk their lives to protect citizens.

County Attorney and political strongman Lawrence Scott demanded removal of longstanding pay parity protections from FOP Contract. Hornberger deceit on deputy pay in budget denounced by cops. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/04/hornberger-admin-killed-longstanding-pay-parity-in-cops-contract-deputies-barred-from-sharing-in-6-mid-year-windfall-given-favored-few-cecil-county-council-questions-budget-gimmick/

05/04/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Cecil Co Exec Hornberger Budget Gives Penny Property Tax Cut, State Minimum to Schools; Deputies Get “Blue Ribbon” but No ‘Green’ Pay

NEWS ANALYSIS

Cecil County Executive Danielle Hornberger (R) submitted her proposed Fiscal 2023 budget to the County Council on 4/1/2022, providing a penny cut on the property tax rate, the minimum state-required aid level for county schools and Cecil College, and a “Blue Ribbon Commission” to look at law enforcement pay scales—but no extra pay beyond their current bare bones union contract.

The one indication that Hornberger may have begun listening to upset county residents was her attempt to make up in part for her Fiscal 2022 assault on the county public libraries, which suffered the deepest cuts of any agency in the current budget. Library workers will finally get a COLA after two years without any pay boosts, but will still be behind other county employees.

New budget creates 'blue ribbon commission' to study pay inequities for law enforcement, but no cold hard cash. County Council begins review on Tuesday: lots of questions on $$$ transparency. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/04/cecil-co-exec-hornberger-budget-gives-penny-property-tax-cut-bare-state-minimum-to-schools-deputies-get-blue-ribbon-but-no-green-pay-boost/

26/03/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Cecil Co Council Makes Strategic, but Heated, Retreat from Showdown with Hornberger on Raises for County Employees; Deputies Still Excluded

News Analysis

The Cecil County Council backed down from a fiscal confrontation with County Executive Danielle Hornberger over a $2.8 million pay boost package for some county employees at an “emergency” Council session on Tuesday (3/22/2022), approving the measure on a unanimous 5-0 vote a week after the plan failed on a 2-2 tie vote and Hornberger falsely accused councilors of “de-funding police.” But Sheriff’s deputies were never included in her legislation in the first place.

Emails show exec delayed answering Council questions, gave false information. Hornberger pal Councilor Jackie Gregory falsely claims 'nothing changed' on pay boost plan for county employees, but in fact costs, sources of funds changed dramatically. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/03/cecil-co-council-makes-strategic-but-heated-retreat-from-budget-showdown-with-county-exec-to-assure-raises-for-county-employees-deputies-still-excluded-by-hornberger/

18/03/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Hornberger Uses Cecil County Website to Smear Councilors with Fake “De-funding” Cops Claim; Documents Show $ to Co Exec Pals

News Analysis

Cecil County Executive Danielle Hornberger (R) staged a partisan coup on the official county government website and page on Wednesday (3/17/2022) to falsely accuse two County Council members of voting to “de-fund” local police– when in fact they were simply seeking to delay a vote until they could get more information on how she is financing over $2.8 million in pay boosts for certain county employees, none of whom are Sheriff’s deputies.

In addition, documents obtained by CECIL TIMES show that some of the highest pay boosts in the county would go to Hornberger’s own “executive administration” staff—which includes Lawrence Scott, the county attorney and longtime Annapolis GOP political consultant who has become the de-facto political muscle of the Hornberger administration. Scott could become the highest paid county employee under the pay plan.

Sheriff Adams refutes County Exec claims, says deputies NOT 'defunded' by Council. Other documents obtained by Cecil Times show new pay scales for some county workers give exec's favored few higher pay for same work. READ it on CECIL TIMES here: http://ceciltimes.com/2022/03/hornberger-disinformation-takes-over-cecil-county-website-to-smear-councilors-with-fake-de-funding-cops-claim-documents-show-to-co-exec-pals/

07/03/2022

NEW on CECIL TIMES: Deputies, ‘Transparency’ Advocates Challenge Hornberger at Budget ‘Town Hall’; Schools, Library Backers Join Chorus of Critics

NEWS ANALYSIS

In the past, Cecil County budget hearings usually sounded like polite beg-a-thons, with primarily schools and libraries advocates pleading for funds. But this year, a budget “town hall” meeting in Elkton was a chorus of anger and direct challenges to County Executive Danielle Hornberger’s policies, lack of spending “transparency” and short-changing of Sheriff’s deputies.

As a solid blue line of Sheriff’s deputies–some in full uniform and others in polo shirts bearing the agency’s insignia– stood in the back of the Elk Room at the county administration building on Thursday (3/3/2021), two deputies spoke for them and voiced their outrage over low pay, even as other nearby police agencies get much higher salaries and are raiding the Cecil force for law enforcement officers.

County Executive Danielle Hornberger faced strong criticism from budget "transparency" advocates, library backers and supporters of schools and Rising Sun sports teams. READ it on CECIL TIMES here:
http://ceciltimes.com/2022/03/deputies-spending-transparency-advocates-challenge-hornberger-at-budget-town-hall-schools-library-backers-join-chorus-of-critics/