Judge orders Visit Harford to pay county $266,100

A Harford County Circuit Court judge ruled Tuesday that the nonprofit Visit Harford, Inc. breached its tourism promotion contract with the county and must pay $266,100.06.

What’s Happening: Judge W. Michel Pierson found that Visit Harford failed to hand over required work products when the county ended the contract and made expenditures the court determined were not justified under its terms. Visit Harford had filed suit against the county first. That case was dismissed in September 2025.

The breakdown: The total judgment is split into two parts:

• $118,442.05 for costs the county paid to rebuild tourism assets after Visit Harford did not turn over its website and social media accounts.
• $147,658.01 for expenditures the court found were not justified under the contract, including gift cards, beer, airfare, meals, and electronic devices.

What’s Important: Because Visit Harford did not deliver contracted work products, the county had to spend money recreating tourism infrastructure it had already paid the nonprofit to maintain.

The political backdrop: The ruling lands six days before the June 24 Republican primary for Harford County Executive, in which Cassilly and County Council President Pat Vincenti are running against each other. Visit Harford has been a central conflict between the two. Cassilly vetoed legislation twice that would have continued funding the nonprofit. The council overrode both vetoes. Cassilly said he refused to implement the legislation even after those overrides.

What Cassilly said: “This judgment is an important victory for Harford County taxpayers,” Cassilly said. “The court affirmed our view that outside entities receiving public funds must spend those funds for their intended purpose and be able to account for every dollar. Despite our attempts to work with Visit Harford, they resisted accountability and transparency and instead launched a lawsuit and a media campaign to discredit our efforts. Council President Pat Vincenti irresponsibly joined in by trying to continue funding Visit Harford through illegal legislation that I vetoed, twice, and I refused to implement when the council overrode my vetoes. Regardless of such pressures, my administration remains committed to protecting taxpayer dollars.”

The Harford County Sun has reached out for comment from Council president Pat Vincenti and will update this story when he responds.

What’s Next: The county said it will pursue collection of the full judgment. Harford County has already replaced Visit Harford with a county-run tourism office called Hello Harford.