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. Hornberger used the official, taxpayer-funded county government website and Facebook page to attack Councilors Bill Coutz (R-2) and Al Miller (R-3) by name in highly partisan terms last week, setting off anger and confusion among citizens and some law enforcement personnel. But Sheriff Scott Adams and leaders of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) union that represents Sheriff’s Deputies subsequently spoke out, saying that the core of local law enforcement, the patrol deputies and other FOP members, were never covered by Hornberger’s plan and therefore were not being ‘de-funded’ at all. Coutz said on Tuesday he had decided to vote for the legislation this week “reluctantly” because “the county executive has left us with no choice.” He noted that Hornberger was threatening to immediately […]