Justin Douglas publicly revealed Mike Musser's contract and denied accusations he leaked confidential employee information to PennLive.
The Dauphin County Library System is the most recent county-related entity to be publicly connected to controversial political consultant Mike Musser II. Since at least 2022, the library system has paid McNees Government Relations, which until recently was led by Musser, $3,000 per month to lobby on its behalf, according to Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas.
The contract is theWhile the Dauphin County Library System is a private nonprofit, a majority of its revenue comes from government grants, financial documents show. The county commissioners appoint five of the library’s 17 board members, and Dauphin County property owners pay a tax that goes toward funding the library system. Douglas, who is the commissioner with designated oversight of the library, raised concerns about the agreement at a public meeting Wednesday.In response, Musser said he has always worked to provide quality service throughout the state and the Mid-Atlantic Region. “The work was never about me, it was about delivering successful results for our clients,” he told PennLive. Musser’s former companies, Community Networking Resources and McNees Government Relations, also had contracts with the county’s tourism bureau, industrial development authority, redevelopment authority and economic development corporation, though those contracts wereOnly a few county library systems in Pennsylvania have their own lobbyists, said Christi Buker, executive director of the Pennsylvania Library Association, which advocates for libraries across the Commonwealth. That’s largely due to two things: Libraries don’t often have enough money to hire lobbying firms, and there hasn’t been proposed legislation focused on county libraries for them to lobby lawmakers about, Buker said. Musser said he met with the library system staff a few times but that his colleagues, Bill Thomas and Dave Feidt, lobbied on behalf of the library system at the State Capitol. Thomas continues to represent the library system, according to Pennsylvania’s lobbying directory. His colleagues helped the library system secure a $1 million grant from the state for a capital project, Musser said. Ryan McCrory, who became executive director of the library system last year, said Thomas helped the organization navigate a variety of funding sources needed for the McCormick Riverfront Library’s renovation, including setting up meetings with legislators. McCrory said Thomas’ services have been helpful, particularly since McCrory and several members of the library system’s leadership team are new to the organization and the region, but that he’s unsure whether the library system will need them moving forward. “My inclination is that beyond this year, I don’t foresee a need for it, but that’s something I would have to discuss more fully with the board,” he said. A spokesperson for McNees Government Relations said the company has been “proud” to work with the Dauphin County Library System for several years but did not answer questions such as what specific work was completed or how much the company was paid. It’s unclear exactly what the contract between the library system and McNees says. Though PennLive asked McCrory, Musser and two McNees representatives to provide a copy of it, none did so. From 2008 through 2024, Musser was also paid $5,000 per month by the county’s Industrial Development Authority to administer its gaming grant program, which doles out millions in funding each year. During that time, the Dauphin County Library System received over $800,000 in grants through the program. When asked whether that could be perceived as a conflict of interest, given the library system was his company’s client during some of those years, Musser said his team did not assist with the library system’s gaming grant applications. Although Musser oversaw the program’s administration, he said funding recommendations were made by the gaming advisory board, of which he was not a member, and were ultimately approved by the Dauphin County Commissioners.with McNees Government Relations in December following Douglas’ criticisms of Musser and the county canceling several contracts with McNees. It’s unclear if they resigned or were terminated.During Wednesday’s meeting, Douglas denounced the many scandals that have embroiled the county over the past year, including those involving Musser, former commissioner He also condemned comments made by Commissioner George Hartwick last week, during which Hartwick accused one of his commissioner colleagues — though he did not say which one — of unlawfully Douglas called those accusations “serious and unfounded” and said asking tough questions and inspecting contracts closely has brought “long overdue transparency to county operations.” In response to Douglas’ comments Wednesday, Republican Commissioner Mike Pries expressed exasperation at the endless sparring between his two Democratic colleagues. “Another week and I continue to wonder, will this board work together to get things accomplished, or are my colleagues going to disparage each other meeting after meeting, week after week, in a public setting?” Pries said.Dauphin County offered $10.4M for building linked to former state senatorIf you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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