County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

I'd like to call to order the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners meeting for June 10th, 2026. We'll begin with a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance.

To the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty

Chief Clerk's report, Mr. Haggerty. Good morning, Commissioners. An executive session was held on Tuesday, June 9th, to obtain the advice of legal counsel regarding active or pending litigation, infrastructure funding, and public safety. In addition to the May 6, 2026 Board of Commissioners meeting minutes and salary board meeting minutes, the personnel packet and purchase order packet, there are 49 items for board consideration today. We have one drug and alcohol services agreement, two risk management agreements, one information technology agreement, one adult probation agreement, one juvenile probation agreement, one prison agreement, one community and economic development agreement, seven grant award agreements, 29 human services agreements, two legal services agreements, two tax forgiveness requests, and the training packet. That concludes my report. Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Any questions for Mr. Haggerty? Hearing none, we'll move to solicitor's report. Mr. Owens.

Good morning. All matters requiring review by my office for action today have been reviewed and approved.

any questions for mr owens and for me hearing none we'll move to public participation related to agenda items only so this is a time for public participation just on agenda items and you'll need to state the agenda item you're referencing there will be a time for public participation later in the meeting general public participation uh this is a three minute time limit you'll need to state your name prior to speaking and we are being live streamed is there anyone for public participation on on agenda item zone seeing none we'll move to review and approval of the minutes uh we have before us the may 6th 2026 board of commissioners meetings a motion made by commissioner hartwick for approval do i have a second second that motion seconded by commissioner priest any discussion hearing none all those in favor aye opposed motion carries we'll move to salary board uh salary board meeting minutes are before us as well Do I have a motion for the salary board meeting minutes?

So moved.

Second. Moved by Controller Bateman, seconded by Commissioner Priest. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. We'll move now to Human Resources. Ray Fisher.

Good morning.

Good morning.

The personnel packet for today's meeting has been distributed. Are there any questions?

have questions but i think we should probably get a motion second discussion um do we have a motion for the personnel i'll make a motion that we approve today's personnel packet as presented motion made by commissioner priest second second seconded by commissioner hartwick um i just have a question on the rationale of the hiring but i believe it's uh district attorneys here he seems to be prepared to stay with me How are you? I'm well. Thank you. What made this individual the best candidate for the position in your mind?

Well, I think he answered two ways. He is a very qualified attorney who is very smart. And as I indicated when I wrote in favor of his reinstatement, he made an awful mistake that deserved the action by the board. But it is just one action and one error is dealt with that way. he's going to be reinstated and will be an excellent attorney as he always was with that error that being said we have five openings right now and we're about to have uh because of other departures uh of necessity we have more we have four uh attorneys that uh graduated recently that uh are taking the bar next month uh and will be available august 17th but we have a huge number of uh of openings and so this is just one of many and i'm looking for a lot more yeah um when you say error the error you're referencing is something that was done against dolphin county So it occurred in Dauphin County. Is it against Dauphin? Yeah, so the victim would be Dauphin County because of the amount of restitution.

Do you think this decision in any way can violate public trust? I mean, that's my concern and my responsibility as a commissioner. Obviously, I want to be very clear. You have 1620 rights to hire who you want in your office, and I respect those rights. I'm trying to see how they... interfere with my obligation to fiduciary responsibility, to liability concerns, and to public trust. And I do feel personally a conflict here with those two responsibilities, because I don't want to step in the way of you being able to hire in your office who you like. At the same time, that's my challenge with this particular hire. Can you speak to that a little bit about just public trust and how you feel like this might interfere with that?

So an advocate is speaking on the case at hand. And it's not about the background of the individual. We're talking about the facts that are admitted in the case. And so the... The prior conviction isn't relevant to the case being tried by that individual.

Okay. If I'm a bank teller and I embezzle funds, let's just say that happens, you prosecute, right? Do you believe I should get a second chance? I think we both agree that person should have a second chance to rebuild their life, right? Yes. Do you think they should go back into banking?

You know, I think it depends on the amount of time and the nature of the offense.

Do you think they should go back to the same branch that they used to work as a teller at?

I'm not a banker.

Probably not. Do you think they should work for the FDIC position of authority? I mean, this is this is the conflict I have. I think I mean, I don't know that there's necessarily going to be a satisfactory answer for me, but I just I have a tough time. with this, and I've heard, I believe everyone deserves a second chance. I really do. I think I've borne out that in my leadership on the prison board. I think I've worked really hard in areas of reentry, and I think you have too. And so I don't doubt that we're both committed to second chances. I just, I'm concerned about the liability piece of this, the fiduciary responsibility I have, and then the public trust element. I will be a no vote on this for those reasons, but I just wanted to get an understanding. Is there anything else you'd like to add for the record just in support of the decision you're making here?

It involves an error and a one-year suspension and five years has passed, and I think he's going to do a great job in spite of an error. People make mistakes.

Questions?

I have a question of our solicitor. So this individual in question is a current county employee.

Yes, correct.

Who has worked in the courts for several years now.

Correct.

And this position is a interdepartmental transfer.

i don't know if i would describe it that way but perhaps the district attorney could clarify if it's an if it's a transfer of that nature i don't i don't know if you call it that well i mean he currently uh because of uh the the court clerks are county employees i guess it would be

So it's a current county employee in good standing who's transferring from the courts to the district attorney's office to a budgeted vacant position. Actually, all three of us commissioners voted for not only your budget, the court budget, which included this individual's pay in the last several years. And it's also a $20,000 pay decrease for that individual to come to our office.

Yes, it is. I think it's more than $20,000. Okay.

More than $20,000. And as Fran mentioned, as an elected official, this is his decision.

Correct.

Based upon a budget that we approved.

Correct.

And again, a budget that also included the individual's prior position that we all voted for, which was over $20,000 more. Correct. Thank you.

On that note, though, there is no case law for this specific example that I could find for someone in this unique position where... they're being entrusted in a role of this magnitude. And I guess I would simply ask our solicitor, why do we even take action on a personnel packet of a row officer appointment if I'm not to consider my responsibilities and obligations as a commissioner when doing so?

You take action because the Board of Commissioners determines approval of the salary.

didn't we already do that in salary board when we appoint when we made this like when this role existed when this role came into existence we would have created that on salary board so i guess i'm trying to understand because it seems to me like we're ratifying the decision of a row officer is that a fair assessment of what we do with the personnel packet when it relates to row officer

I don't believe so.

Okay.

Because we're not ratifying him. He's now becoming an assistant district attorney.

Sure.

So I think that's why it appears on the agenda today.

Okay. But I can't divorce my responsibilities from that decision, can I? And I guess what I'm seeing here is two competing responsibilities. I have, you know, we have someone who has 1620 rights and the ability to hire whoever they would like. On the other end, we have different responsibilities that rest at this desk or at this desk. I could not find any case law. There was much case law on 1620 rights overreach where commissioners had blocked, but nothing where these examples or these criteria existed. Is there a time when it would be adequate for me to block a row officer's appointment where it would be so egregious.

Did you ask, is there a time where you could do that? Yeah.

Oh, I, I mean, is there a circumstance in which it would be correct or proper for me to block?

I couldn't speculate on that. It would depend on the circumstances at the time. And we would review that if you as a commissioner requested.

The circumstances as currently standing, you don't believe or, well, What's your opinion on the circumstances that we're currently in with this particular situation?

So I guess one correction is that the 1620 codification has changed. It's no longer 1620. Okay. I wish I had the proper statute right now, but I don't. I didn't know we'd be having this discussion. But with respect to this particular change.

14329.

thank you 14329 um i have to defer as the solicitor to the district attorney i mean i can't even pretend to make decisions on the operations of the district district attorney's office and who they hire and i believe uh district attorney Chardo is a superb attorney and I trust him to make solid decisions for his office so I can't really impede or comment on that and I don't see any reason to do that in this case any further comments it's just following up on you saying that you believe in second chances I also believe in second chances and my vote today will accurately reflect that

Call the vote for the personnel packet. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? No.

Thank you.

Thank you. Move budget finance for Davis.

Morning, commissioners. I have no changes to the purchase order packet that was sent out. It's ready for your approval. I'm going to answer any questions you have.

None for me.

Do we have a motion for the purchase order packet? So moved. Second. Moved by Commissioner Priest, seconded by Commissioner Hartwick. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Davis. we have 49 items for action before us I'd like to pull out item number 46 outside of that is there anything we need to pull for a separate vote make a motion that we move items one through 45 45 And 47 through 49? And 47 through 45.

Second.

Okay. Motion made by Commissioner Hartwick for items 1 through 45 and 47 through 49, seconded by Commissioner Priest. Need discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. I'll move to item number 46.

I'll make a motion we approve item 46. Second.

Commissioner Hartwick motions item number 46, seconded by Commissioner Preece. I am abstaining from item 46 because it relates to an employee litigation matter stemming from a personnel decision that was made without my involvement or input. Given that I was excluded from the decision that led to this matter, I do not believe it appropriate for me to participate in approving the legal expenses associated with defending it. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Please note my abstention. Former business? New business? I have an item for new business for the solicitor specifically. I'm requesting that our solicitors send a formal demand letter to BP Consulting Group, LLC. Uh, the purpose of the letter should be to require the recipient to either provide documentation, demonstrating compliance. With the stated purpose of the gaming grant or remit. Payment of the full grant amount back to dolphin county specifically, the recipient should be asked to provide records sufficient to establish. that the produce deliveries described in the gaming grant were actually delivered, completed. To date, I've asked repeatedly and yet to then provide evidence to demonstrate that those deliveries took place. Accordingly, the demand letter should require the recipient, within a reasonable amount of time, to produce those documents or remit the full amount of the grant. Public funds were awarded for the purpose of public support, and we have a responsibility to ensure those funds were used as promised. Any other new business?

Hearing none. Actually, I have two questions off of your last statement. Who did you ask for the documentation of that matter?

I've repeatedly asked for documentation.

Who have you asked for documentation of that matter?

Our former head of economic development, director of economic development.

Okay. And have you discussed this or received legal clearance that we can even do this?

I'm talking to a solicitor now, and I would expect that he will research whether or not we're legally able to do this.

When did you first find out about this truck issue with Mr. Proctor, you can say his name? I don't know. I'm asking because you've been oversight of economic development for well over a year. So you have known about it for quite some time. now it seems that I don't know because maybe some recent instance or or alleged incidents this could be a personal vendetta against an individual it just seems like there's a lot of activity lately from one commissioner you've had oversight and done nothing about this topic and now it's a topic if only oversight would mean that I would have all the information necessary to do my job that would be a whole different Dolphin County

anything else yeah i haven't heard you bring this topic up before commissioner's remarks commissioner yes first of all i know we have a number of individuals that are graduating uh over the past week and the upcoming weeks i wanted to personally extend my congratulations to all the families and graduates of our local area high schools and i will mention my son graduating as well But ultimately, my request not only is congratulations for getting this far and getting across the stage, but as you may be aware, Dauphin County is in need of employees and qualified employees from our local area high schools. There's no one better to serve this community than those individuals who have grown up. have a vested interest, who graduated from local high schools, have personal relationships to be able to make sure our kids are protected, our seniors are protected. Those individuals need help. We provide a level of service. If not you, then who? Obviously, we are looking forward to both your graduation, sort of your next steps in life. We want to remind you that we have various internship programs throughout Dauphin County as you return back. And hopefully, no matter what field you get in, we hope that you consider Dauphin County as a place of employment as you move forward. We are open for business, and we need you to be able to carry on the level of service that our customers and our taxpayers deserve. Congratulations on your graduation and hope you're willing to consider Dauphin County as a place of employment. I also wanted to just mention that I know our cultural diversity essay contest has just closed. I know we are in search of judges which are being arranged right now, and I know we're looking forward to the Board of Commissioners. uh being able to award those future leaders uh who have thought and experienced what diversity means to them and how our world can be a better place as a result of that being one of our greatest strengths those kind of ideas those kinds of experiences those kinds of views about actual experiences should shape our policy our future and our world in order to make this community a better place and i want to thank the students who have submitted the essays and those who have participated in the essay contest. And finally, on Friday, as a former Martin Luther King Leadership Institute graduate, I was asked to sit in to review the community engagement projects. The Martin Luther King Leadership class provides a series of opportunities to learn about leadership. This time around, under the leadership of Merrick Green, they were asked to do a community engagement project. So it's not only about getting folks prepared for leadership in the community, getting them connected, but also how do you plan on using this experience to make a significant impact as a result of both the relationships and what you've learned. we had an opportunity to judge and evaluate projects that range from town halls to supporting and promoting legislation to expand the pre-K counts income threshold, to launch a community-driven postcard advocacy campaign supporting residents on the black maternal health disparities, encourage constituents to engage elected officials in support of maternal health, and then uh one really interesting one as well was a civic engagement project that talked about how we can re-engage students around civic voter participation and uh they're looking to take that effort on into both york and belfin county so thank you to all the participants and their ideas and their enthusiasm about putting action to work and being able to change the communities in which we live thank you

thank you Commissioner Hartwick I echo many of your comments there thank you for your leadership holding the cultural celebration over the past close to two decades now you and your team Faye Fisher Edgar Cohen and all the other Ruby Dow and all the others who have participated in our continuing to participate i want to congratulate all the 2026 graduates high school level college level trade schools etc the future is here the future is now and the future is yours make the most of it i also want to thank commissioner hartwick and Jim Zuge for volunteering with me over Thursday, Friday, Saturday at the Parish Festival at St. Joan of Arc in Hershey. Thousands of people attended. It was a great event. And I want to ask our Chief of Staff, Mr. Haggard, if you could provide an update on where we're at with the search for a new Director of Economic Development.

Absolutely. We have five interviews scheduled with the Board of Commissioners today for some finalists to be considered for that position. Following those interviews, presumably the Board will make a determination as to who is the best fit, and then we will proceed to work with that individual to further fill our Deputy Economic Development Director vacancy as well as our program coordinator spot.

We'll take a moment to thank Vince Pease for the work that he has done in an interim basis, filling in that role. I'm hearing a lot of good things about what you're doing. The employees are very happy working with you. So thank you very much.

I'm just so disappointed. I don't really know how else to say it. Like, this is just so exhausting. Like, There are no lines here. Scandal after scandal. And I could go through them all, like, since I got here. And now we have an individual who's going to be a DA who I don't have anything against this person. But it is the only person that I can find that has a background of conflict of interest convictions. Amid the immense amounts of conflict of interest that have existed in this county, it seems like where there is a conflict in Dauphin County, people have interest. And we continue to empower them. And it's just exhausting. And those are my comments for today. We have no correspondence. General public participation. I'll have a list come up to me. Just a reminder, we have three minutes. We have three minutes to... To share, you'll need to say your name prior to commenting, and we are being live streamed. I have Michelle Godfrey. Morning, Michelle.

Good morning. Thanks for your congratulations. I also have a high school senior this year. My name is Michelle Godfrey from Dauphin County, and I'm here today to ask you to please reconsider the welcoming county resolution that was proposed last year. Since then, DHS has been given even more money and imprisoned more men, women, and children across the nation. About 86% of those detained have no criminal record. They're being taken from their families, their jobs, and their communities. Our county has not been immune to this government overreach. We have witnessed countless neighbors from Central and South America, Asia, and Haiti torn from their families. We have been watching it happen in Dauphin County for over a year. We need a welcoming county resolution that makes it clear and transparent. The county prohibits the voluntary use of county data, space, and employee time to collaborate with the immigration enforcement officials. Counties like Allegheny, Montgomery, Erie, and Philadelphia have taken similar measures in response to the sharp increase of immigration enforcement across the state and deaths at the hands of ICE. Their similar resolutions are proving to be effective. And now that many have been in effect for almost a year, it's clear that these resolutions provide real and tangible protection from ICE overreach. Within the next couple weeks, an updated draft resolution written by multiple county residents will be provided to each of you. My hope is that it will be seen with fresh eyes and an open heart. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up, Douglas Lynn.

Good morning. Good morning, guys. Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame.

Excuse me.

Could you please state your name for the record? Stride from land to land. Here at our. Excuse me, sir. Sunset.

Sorry. We're going to have you start over and I'll reset your clock. You just have to state your name before speaking. Sorry. That's all right.

I just want to make sure you say so. Go ahead. My name is Douglas Lynn. I'm from Susquehanna Township. Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame with conquering limbs astride from land to land. Here at our sea-washed sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch whose flame is the imprisoned lightning and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon hand grows worldwide welcome. Her mild eyes command the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp, cries she with silent lips. This is a part y'all may have heard before. Gimme your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your steaming shore and these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me, lift my lamp beside the golden door. These are the words of poet Emma Lazarus. The last few lines are words embossed on a plaque, a plaque at the feet of Lady Liberty herself. We now move to my words. You may well find them to be less well-polished, as they say. As a child, I was forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance mantra every day before the start of school. Kind of funny, though, that with liberty and justice for all part has kind of stuck with me for more than half a century. It's a catchy little jingle, that. As a newly minted young man, I took an oath to defend the Constitution, an oath to defend the Republic for which that Constitution stands, an oath to defend my neighbors, an oath to stand in harm's way for those who can't stand for themselves. I served my country. I earned my honor. But here's the rump. An oath has no end date. An oath is forever. That is why I stand here today or sit in this case. to stand for those who can't stand for themselves, my neighbors, my friends. Now, Dauphin County needs to adopt the Welcome County Resolution that makes it 100% clear that we prohibit the voluntary use of county data, space, and employee time to collaborate the lawless activities of federal immigration issues. Thank you.

Next up, I'm having trouble with the first name, but last name Murray or Murray. Sorry. Sorry about that.

Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. My topic isn't as serious or as deep. Your name first, just first and last name and for the record. Yeah. Like I was saying, my topic isn't that serious or that deep. As a matter of fact, I could approach y'all after the meeting and we could talk about it. That's up to you. You're welcome to do whatever you would like. Well, I mean, since I'm up here, I work at AFSCME. And I also work for the Commonwealth and I work for UPS. But I'm a union employee. What I was requesting or proposing is that I know that you have the festival, the jazz festival, out at 400 every year. i want to do something at the ashley conference center i want a beer festival with uh union beer companies and then we have a festival out there at the conference center um also you you're familiar with the conference center you know how large it is i'd also like to have a haunted house for the kids out there in conjunction with the commission another idea i had is we have a whole bunch of vacant lots throughout the city I don't know what the situation is with people paying for their property tax, but I propose that we either lessen or make them exempt from property tax if they turn that space into a community garden or plant X amount fruit trees on that thing. But that's just what I wanted to come here and say.

Thank you for those ideas. All right. And you should certainly speak to us, and we can kind of talk to you about the process for how we go through supporting or sponsoring events. There's a process for that, so we can talk about that. Yeah. Thanks for your time. Yeah. With that, that exhausts our list of those who signed up for public participation in advance. Is there anyone for public participation in the crowd? Come on.

Good morning. Good morning.

Good morning, commissioners. Mary Olivera, president and CEO of Whitaker Center here in Harrisburg. I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for your ongoing support as we work diligently, as well as with some of your staff members to truly close out this cooperative agreement with BCED. Those are much needed funds, direct reimbursement from projects done in the past that have just taken a little bit longer from a paperwork process to get across the finish line. But we're very, very close. And as Commissioner Hartwick said, Whitaker Center is also open for business. We recognize ourselves as a linchpin to the economic development focus of our capital city. And we appreciate everything you've done for the past 26 and a half years. And hopefully we'll continue, whether it's you or your successors, for the next quarter of a century. So thank you.

Thank you very much. Anyone else for public comment? Morning.

Morning, Commissioners. Pamela Carson, City of Harrisburg. Pretty disappointed in this morning's meeting. And the biggest disappointment is is why we don't know where gaming money has gone and why it is now a problem to ask for that retroactively. Two weeks ago, I spent three hours watching Harrisburg City Council, asking entities that they had given money to much more recently, but just asking them to please show us where and how you have spent or are intending to spend that money in detail. And if they can do it, so can you. Because based on what a lot of us in the public have seen, it looks like money was stolen, particularly when we talk about Mr. Proctor and the vegetable deliveries. Maybe they happened. Maybe they did. And if they did, fine. All we're asking for is proof that that happened. And I don't understand why that is a problem to ask for that proof. Not casting aspersions on anyone. Just want to see if it actually happened. Because that's that's our money and if it didn't happen then we need to deal with that and if it did then we've learned it did and we need better constraints from the beginning better guidelines from the beginning and we need to ask people to be for more clarity when they provide money and whether you like it or not Perception is nine-tenths of reality. What people see is what they believe to be true. And if they're not seeing the correct thing, then it is your job as the highest elected officials in this county and the folks with the fiduciary responsibility to make sure that people are seeing the picture correctly. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else for public comment? Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion for adjournment. So moved. Second. Moved by Commissioner Hartwick, seconded by Commissioner Priest. All in favor? Aye. Adjourned.