The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA COUNTY – Former Walla Walla County Commissioner Perry Dozier spent the last day of his two terms as county commissioner on Dec. 31.

He will continue to serve the county as interim manager of the Walla Walla County Fairgrounds until a permanent manager is hired this spring and looks forward to spending more time with his two college sons and investing more time into his Waitsburg farm.

Dozier was recently honored for his service at a commissioner-sponsored employee appreciation event. His fellow commissioners presented him with a clock in recognition of his eight years of service.

Dozier graduated from Whitman College with a BA in Economics. He has served as president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers and has testified before the U.S. Ag Committee and U.S. Senate sub-committee on agriculture and farm-related issues.

He also served on the Northwest Grain Growers Board of Directors and was a member of the Washington State Barley Commission. Prior to running for county commissioner, Dozier served on the Walla Walla Planning Commission.

When Dave Carey announced he would retire as commissioner in 2008, Dozier decided to run for the position.

"I'm not sure exactly why I decided to run in the beginning but it's been an amazing experience and I've had the opportunity to work with the most dedicated people," he said. "Anyone who takes a job with the government and stays there, is dedicated, because they could go into the private sector and make far more money. I am really going to miss the people that I work with and their dedication."

While in office Dozier represented the agricultural interests of the county and its citizens. Committee assignments included the Walla Walla Watershed Management Partnership Board, the Snake River Salmon Recover Board, the Greater Columbia Behavioral Health Regional Support Network, Work Source Employers Committee, Work Force Development Council Regional Board, and Emergency Management Executive Board, to name a few.

Dozier said there are three accomplishments he is most proud of during his tenure as commissioner.

First, is the fact that the commissioners opted not to take the allowed annual 1% property tax increase in four of the eight years he was in service, even when times were tough.

"The economy experienced a downturn in 2010 through 2012, but the previous commissioners had been conservative and we had reserve accounts to pull from. I'm proud that through that time when the economy was hurting and we had a tougher time with revenues that we did not raise property taxes.

"We were able to balance the budget by utilizing reserve funds and by teamwork as commissioners with other elected officials. We chose not to take the 1% increase again in 2017," Dozier said.

In spite of some bad press and the fact that the building is now up for sale, Dozier cites the commissioners' decision to purchase a building at 1520 Kelly Place to bring social service agencies to a centralized location, as one of his successes.

"We were able to bring nonprofits like Heart to Heart and the Blue Mountain Action Council under one roof, and to establish a bus route with Valley Transit," he said. "Even though it cost a lot and there were unforeseen expenses, I think that was a very good move. Coupling that with the one-tenth of one percent sales tax to fund chemical dependency and mental health treatment dovetailed into helping a lot of people that need those services."

Finally, Dozier lists another controversial issue, transferring oversight of the county jail from the Sheriff's Office to the county commissioners, as a significant accomplishment.

"The commissioners had a different vision of what corrections is and we wanted to address the problem of repeat offenders," he said. "Now we have a mental health professional in the jail and can use the one-tenth of one percent tax for treatment. With the help of Mike Bates we've made a lot of improvements and have used inmate labor to bring the jail up to higher standards.

"Now we have other counties looking at what we did and calling to ask about it," he added.

Over his two terms, Dozier has also been involved in the adoption of stormwater provisions; considered many amendments to county codes; was part of the board when it entered into an interlocal agreement with the City of Walla Walla to form the Joint Community Development Agency; participated in many meetings on environmental-related topics, and was part of the board decision to prohibit production, processing, storage, and retail sale of recreational marijuana in the county; and has helped keep the county in an excellent fiscal position as part of the county budget committee.

"It has been an honor and privilege to serve with Commissioner Dozier for the past five years," said Commissioner Jim Johnson. "His contributions to the citizens of Walla Walla County, many of which go unnoticed, have served to make our community stronger and more financially stable because of his efforts. I, along with Commissioner Duncan and past commissioners who served with Perry, wish him the very best in the future and thank him for his service."

Dozier said the decision to step down was not an easy one.

"The work load has increased dramatically over my eight years as commissioner. It's important to me now to have time to spend with my two boys, Logan and Kyle, who are finishing up college at WSU before heading into their adult careers. I also want to invest more time into farming again. If the term was for less than four years, it's possible that I may have run again," Dozier said.

"I really appreciate the support, which has been fantastic in the Waitsburg area, that I've received over the last eight years. It's been nice being local and it's been nice to work with Randy (Waitsburg City Manager Randy Hinchliffe) and to work with people from different municipalities. I've gotten to know a lot of people and the projects that we can bring together collaboratively mean so much. I hope the new commissioners keep those bonds," he added.

Dozier will keep busy as interim manager for the Walla Walla County Fairgrounds for the next several months.

"That will be fun. I've been the fairgrounds commissioner liaison, so this is like stepping into something I've already done. And I might contemplate running for office later," Dozier said.