Residents of Pennsylvania’s Dauphin County — home of the state capital, Harrisburg, and the chocolaty oasis of Hersheypark — were shocked with unwelcome news in December 2024. For the first time in two decades, the county’s leaders had not only voted to raise their property taxes, but did so by a whopping 22%.

What they may not have realized: That higher tax bill was needed to help offset the soaring health care costs of the county’s employees.

Over the past 20 years, even as Dauphin County cut its workforce by 19%, its health care spending more than doubled. Per-employee costs tripled. If the county didn’t raise property taxes, officials would have had to consider slashing health benefits for a dwindling staff who rely on them.