Judge informs FOP that they’re powerless
“House of Cards” fan and Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Glenn T. Harrell Jr. recently quoted Kevin Spacey’s character when ruling in favor of the county after it rejected raises for police in 2011. “Proximity to power deludes some into thinking they wield it,” the judge wrote about the Montgomery County FOP Lodge. That’s because the County Council is ultimately responsible for approving the budget, and therefore can alter a negotiated police contract. “As the well-known adage provides, ‘He who holds the purse strings rules the roost,’ ” the judge wrote later in the opinion. So just to be clear – the FOP local here is considered by the powers that be to be more of a social club than a union.