Walla Walla County renews tax for mental health

Aug. 31--After hearing a parade of speakers testify to its success, Walla Walla County commissioners Monday renewed a sales tax to help fund local chemical dependency and mental health treatment.

Enacted in 2011, the one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax was due to end this year if commissioners did not vote to keep it going.

Monday's vote renewed the funds for another five years with the provision that commissioners will continue to receive an annual report of what the money is being used to accomplish.

"It's probably one of the better decisions that I have made in many years ... because I think the results have been so positive," Commissioner Perry Dozier, who in 2011 voted to enact the tax along with former commissioners Greg Tompkins and Gregg Loney, said after hearing testimony about people the funding helped.

Collection of revenues did not start until January 2012 and the first funds were allocated in 2014, said Debbie Dumont, Walla Walla County Community Health Department human services and contracts manager.

The tax is now generating "fairly close to $900,000 plus in annual revenue," Dumont said.

"It has had real meaningful impact in our communities," she said.

Programs funded have ranged from early intervention services with elementary school students and their families to providing much-needed services in the County Jail and at the county Juvenile Justice Center.

Norris Gregoire, county Juvenile Justice Center detention manager, expanded on Dumont's comment.

He told commissioners that since the sales tax has been in place the center has been able to partner with Children's Home Society of Washington to have a permanent full-time mental health provider on staff.

"As a result ... (that person) has been able to come back and address kids on the front end before they escalate, before they become suicidal, before they engage in serious self-harm ...," he said. "It's made a huge difference back in detention. Our serious behavioral incidents have declined remarkably in the last two years."

Tim Meliah, director of Walla Walla Catholic Charities, said that along with allowing people with mental health and chemical dependency access that they weren't able to have before, the funds have increased the ability of agencies to collaborate.

As an example, Meliah said his agency and another are now able to jointly fund a Spanish-speaking counselor who is serving both agencies "and allowing families and children to have access to services that they wouldn't have otherwise ..."

After the close of Monday's hearing, Johnson also praised results of implementing the tax.

"I think we have seen a tremendous improvement in delivery of these services because of this one-tenth of one percent (tax), he said.

"This is one of the good ones. We assessed the tax locally, we spend it locally and we see local results. And I think it has been a tremendous success," he said.

Andy Porter can be reached at andyporter@wwub.com or 526-8318.

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