Ex-Dauphin County commissioner stripped of board positions, NRA funding following controversies

After months of back-to-back controversies involving ex-Dauphin County Commissioner Jeff Haste, the commissioners unanimously voted Wednesday to remove Haste from the county boards he sits on and to yank funding for his consulting role to the National Rifle Association's annual outdoor show.

The actions were introduced at a public meeting by newcomer Commissioner Justin Douglas, who has consistently criticized Haste's ongoing influence in the county since concerns about Haste's potential conflicts of interest began surfacing. Douglas was supported by longtime Commissioners Mike Pries and George Hartwick.

Douglas also called on Haste to forfeit his county pension, from which he has received over $3K per month since retiring in 2021. Haste did not respond to immediate questions from PennLive, including whether he plans to do so.

Several months after he retired, Haste began receiving $60K per year from the Dauphin County Economic Development Corporation to act as a liaison to the NRA's Great American Outdoor Show. The role was created based on a now-debunked rumor that the NRA was planning to relocate the blockbuster event to another state, PennLive previously reported.

Given that the commissioners pulled the grant funding for Haste's position, it's unclear if the Economic Development Corporation will terminate the role or fund it another way. George Connor, who heads the organization, said it has not had the opportunity to review the matter yet but noted the board is scheduled to meet at noon on Thursday, Nov. 21.

The commissioners removed Haste from four powerful county-appointed board seats:

The Dauphin County Board of Assessment and Appeals, which can adjust property tax assessments, forgive back taxes and more;

The county's Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank Authority, which lead projects to tackle blighted properties; and

The Harrisburg Area Transportation Study, which Haste chairs and which spearheads regional transportation needs for almost 1,700 square miles in South-Central Pennsylvania.

The commissioners did not immediately appoint replacements at Wednesday's meeting.

The stunning moves signal a turning point after concerns about ethical violations and conflicts of interest involving Haste have snowballed.

A PennLive report Wednesday revealed Haste in 2017 received $325K in undisclosed payments from the CEO of PrimeCare Medical, the county jail's healthcare contractor. Haste used the money for a down payment on his house and did not include it on his statement of financial interest that year, according to financial documents reviewed by PennLive.

Haste's annual commissioner salary when he left office was $114K.

"Dauphin County wasn't his priority, it was his side hustle," Douglas said of Haste, going on to call the county a "cesspool of corruption."

"The bigger question remains, who else knew?" Douglas said. "Are we supposed to believe that no one else noticed or participated?"

Other recent PennLive investigations revealed Haste:

Approved millions of dollars to the county's tourism agency while the organization paid his wife ;

Worked as a consultant for PrimeCare Medical while he was in office and supposed to be overseeing the company's performance;

Meddled in the bid process of the county's $2.3 million bridge inspection contract;

Championed the creation of the county's now-failed solar farm while he was living on the solar farm property in a rental home owned by Coroner Graham Hetrick; and

Connected his high-school friend to an attorney who helped him set up a business that ultimately received nearly $2 million worth of what appear to be no-bid contracts for work on the solar farm, though records do not indicate the friend had any prior experience in the industry.

The shift in political will against Haste happened quickly. Douglas first attempted in October to remove Haste from his county board positions and terminate his NRA liaison contract, but the motion failed when neither Hartwick nor Pries supported it.

When asked what changed this time, Pries said he has been "receiving a steady flow of information that I was never privy to."

At Wednesday's meeting, Douglas was clear he's not done exposing the county's past skeletons.

"Here's my message to anyone in this corruption: Get out," he said. "Get out."