Develop
waterfronts, airports and other facilities for handling cargo
and passengers.
Provide
capital improvements needed for industrial and manufacturing
facilities within the Port District.
Improve
Port District lands so they can be sold or leased for industrial
and commercial purposes.
Undertake
and adopt comprehensive development plans for the Port District.
Execute
business recruitment strategies.
Levy
taxes and sell bonds to develop properties and manufacturing
facilities.
Port
Leadership
The
Port of Walla Walla has three elected commissioners who represent
you...the shareholders. The commissioners are Ken Jantz, president,
Paul Schneidmiller, vice president, and Fred Bennett, secretary.
While all commissioners are elected on a county-wide basis,
each must live in a specific commissioner district within
Walla Walla County. The districts are the same as the Walla
Walla county commissioner districts.
Bennett, a retired
Walla Walla College professor of engineering, represents District
3, including College Place, Touchet, Lowden, Burbank, Eureka,
Clyde and the western part of the county.
Jantz, a Waitsburg
wheat rancher, represents District 2, which includes the eastern
third of the City of Walla Walla, Dixie, Waitsburg and Prescott.
Schneidmiller, president
of World Wide Travel Service, Inc., represents District 1,
which encompasses more than half the City of Walla Walla and
the Stateline area.
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Each
commissioner serves a six-year term. Terms are staggered so
that one position is up for election every two years. Commissioners
decide each year who will hold the offices of president, vice
president and secretary.
Port
of Walla Walla Commissioners, and those at other Ports with
similar business volume, are entitled to $70 per day compensation
for each day or portion of a day spent attending meetings
or performing other services on behalf of the Port District.
The
law prohibits commissioners from receiving more than $6,720
per year in such compensation. In addition, Port Commissioners
receive a salary of up to $500 per month.
Port
Finances
Ports
may levy, without a public vote, a property tax of no more
than 45-cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation for
general Port purposes. When an industrial development district
is formed under state law, commissioners may levy an additional
45-cents per $1,000 of assessed value for a period of no longer
than 12 years.
The Port of Walla Walla currently levies only the first tax
for general port purposes. Including revenue from the Walla
Walla Regional Airport, the Port District receives only 12
percent of its revenues from property taxes.
Washington State law provides for Port Commissioners to designate
administrative powers and duties to the managing official
of the Port District. This is done with a Port Commission
resolution establishing guidelines and procedures for the
managing official to follow. In that manner, the Executive
Director and his or her staff can perform their duties in
a timely and efficient manner. Still, as policy makers, Port
commissioners remain responsible for district operations.
Port of Walla Walla Commissioners meet on the second and fourth
Wednesday of each month at the Port office.
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