Explosive Dauphin County meeting reveals accusations, divisions among commissioners
By: Juliette Rihl
An explosive and wide-ranging Dauphin County meeting Wednesday revealed accusations of an unfair bidding process for the county’s multimillion-dollar health care contract and a failed attempt to oust former county Commissioner Jeff Haste, who has recently been the subject of intense public scrutiny, from his county leadership roles.
Commissioners Mike Pries (R) and Justin Douglas (D) said they were left out of the selection process for the county’s next health care provider until the last minute and raised concerns about the integrity of the process. Valued at roughly $80 million over three years, the contract, which covers health insurance for county employees and their families, is likely one of the county’s biggest financial deals.
Douglas also motioned to remove Haste from his four county board positions and to terminate his contract as a liaison to the National Rifle Association’s Great American Outdoor Show. The motion failed when neither Commissioner George Hartwick (D) nor Pries opted to support it.
Questions have recently emerged about several contracts and agreements involving Haste, who retired from his commissioner post in 2021, including his ongoing role as a paid liaison to the NRA’s annual outdoor show and his paid consulting role with PrimeCare Medical, the county jail’s health care provider, while he was in office.
‘Is there a hand in the cookie jar?’
The selection process for a new county health care provider screeched to a halt after Pries and Douglas began raising questions about the timeline of events and the process’s integrity.
The Benecon Group, a consulting company hired by the county to help select a health care provider, issued a request for proposals for the county’s health care contract on July 15 with a deadline of Aug. 5. Best and final offers were due Sept. 5, and the commissioners received the final offers the second week of September. That was the first time Pries and Douglas were made aware the process was underway, they said.
But on Sept. 23, weeks after the final deadline, the commissioners were presented with a new offer from one company. That offer bumped the company from third place to first place, Pries said, though neither he nor Douglas named the company. Both commissioners said they walked out of the Sept. 23 closed meeting early out of concern that the process was not fair.
It’s unclear how the late-arriving offer came about. The companies were not solicited for additional offers, Chief Clerk Vince Paese said at Wednesday’s meeting.
Pries, in an unusually theatrical moment, pulled out a package of Chips Ahoy! Hershey’s chocolate chip cookies and compared the cookies to the health care offers — similar in appearance yet different.
“Is there a hand in the cookie jar? I don’t know,” Pries said while dropping the cookies into a bowl.
Later in the meeting, when pressed by Douglas, Paese said Hartwick directed him to keep the dollar amounts in the received proposals “close to the vest” to keep the process fair and efficient. Hartwick, who attended Wednesday’s meeting virtually, oversees the health care search as the Human Resources oversight commissioner.
Hartwick said it was Paese’s job to keep the other commissioners updated on the selection process and said he was stunned they had not been notified of the request for proposals at the beginning.
Douglas lamented the exclusion of himself and Pries and said he is consistently “boxed out” of information necessary to do his job.
The late-arriving offer was unsolicited, Hartwick said, adding that it was not anyone’s intention to leave Pries or Douglas out of the process. While the other commissioners should have been included earlier in the process, he said, he believes the search process was fair. He also said he believed the commissioners agreed the late bid would be disqualified.
PennLive could not reach a representative for The Benecon Group.
What will happen next regarding the health care contract remains uncertain. The commissioners can accept the new best bid offer, extend their current contract with Capital Blue Cross for a year, choose a proposal from the initial batch of best offers or restart the selection process, county Solicitor Matt Owens said. No decisions were made at the meeting.
‘Find some courage’
At the end of the meeting, Douglas condemned Haste for failing to disclose his wife’s paid consultancy role with Visit Hershey & Harrisburg while continuing to vote on matters involving the organization while he was in office.
Douglas also expressed concerns about Haste being paid $60K a year by PrimeCare Medical while he was in office. He said that while Haste abstained from votes regarding the company, he spoke with several people present at executive session deliberations regarding the company, and none could recall any point where Haste declined to participate due to a conflict of interest.
“The fundamental question is this: How can an elected official, entrusted with the responsibility of serving the public, simultaneously be employed by a vendor and still uphold the best interest of Dauphin County taxpayers?” Douglas asked.
He wrapped up his comments with a motion to terminate Haste’s NRA liaison contract as well as remove him from the county boards he sits on: the Board of Appeals, the Redevelopment Authority, the Land Bank Authority and the county’s appointee to the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study, which he chairs. The motion was met with applause from the audience.
Hartwick said he was “taken back” by the motion and was willing to discuss the matter later but was unprepared to act on it Wednesday.
In response, Douglas said he puts “no faith in words.”
“I have a simple request to my colleagues: Do not ever tell me again that you’re interested in cleaning up this place […] because I’m just going to say, you’re not,” Douglas said. “Find some courage to put a vote on the freaking floor with me.”
“I have courage,” Hartwick interjected.
“Find some courage to follow your words with actions,” Douglas continued. “And when you do, I’ll be here and ready.”
Pries said he would reconsider Haste’s board appointments when they come up again for a vote next year, but that other members of the boards Haste sits on told him Haste is a productive board member who attends meetings and contributes.
Haste has been the subject of multiple controversies in recent months.
Several months after leaving office in 2021, he began receiving $60K a year from the Dauphin County Economic Development Corporation to act as a “liaison” to the NRA show. The justification for his role was based on a false rumor that the organization was planning to relocate the show, and that a liaison was needed to maintain a strong relationship between the county and the NRA. Although the relocation rumor was recently debunked by PennLive, Haste continues to be paid $5K each month.
Haste also approved millions of dollars to Visit Hershey & Harrisburg, the county’s designated tourism agency, without disclosing his wife was being paid by the organization. Two weeks after PennLive reported on the matter in August, the FBI stopped by the tourism agency, though it’s unclear why they were there. An attorney for the organization later said he does not believe the organization is being investigated by law enforcement. Visit Hershey & Harrisburg has since announced its President and CEO, Mary Smith, will retire at the end of the year.
Haste, who was involved in the creation of the Dauphin County Industrial Development Authority’s solar farm in the early 2010s, was living on the property around the time the project was being developed. The solar farm has been steadily losing money for several years, and the IDA is planning to sell it.
On Wednesday, PennLive also reported Haste received over $200K from PrimeCare Medical,the county jail’s health care provider, while in office. During the time Haste was being paid, he was also supposed to be overseeing the company’s performance at the jail.
Haste could not be reached for comment.
Harrisburg100 
Haste is a crook
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