Dauphin County Commissioner George P. Hartwick, III has been appointed to the National Association of Counties (NACo) Housing Task Force, a team of 30 county leaders working to find solutions and innovations to address the country’s housing affordability and stability crisis.

The NACo Housing Task Force will explore intergovernmental partnerships that support housing solutions among federal, state and local officials, along with private, non-profit, and homeownership and rental partners.

“I have seen first-hand the desperate need and demand for affordable housing options, so I took very personally the initiative to help bring this task force to fruition,” Commissioner Hartwick said.

Dauphin County Commissioners Mike Pries, Chad Saylor, and Hartwick recently commissioned a housing study that showed fast-rising housing costs, very few affordable housing options, and a minimal rental vacancy rate.

“We partnered in an affordable housing community not long ago that offered 50 homes – the wait list was over 800,” Hartwick said. “That speaks volumes to the number of people in search of safe, comfortable, and affordable homes.”

The Housing Task Force will host in-person and virtual meetings, as well as produce original research, to examine the role of county governments in providing residents with more housing, greater variety of housing, and better housing affordability and value.

“Counties are on the front lines of responding to the housing crisis,” NACo President Denise Winfrey said. “Stable, quality housing is the foundation for better health, safety, education, a strong workforce, improved financial wellness, and lower demands on the social safety net.”

Read NACO’s announcement HERE.

The group will examine comprehensive solutions to address the complex conditions that undermine housing affordability. Housing costs are outpacing job and wage growth in many areas, with many factors, including:

Supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, increased demand for short-term rentals, land costs, demographic pattern shifts due to generational population changes and economic competitiveness; institutional investors; governmental policies, regulations and capacities; and competing public, private and community interests and incentives.

MEDIA CONTACT: Brett Hambright, Press Secretary, 717-780-6311; bhambright@dauphincounty.gov