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Washington County supervisors approve tax exemption for Mission Dental properties
Summary
After a public hearing and staff presentation, the Washington County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a real-property tax exemption for two Mission Dental sites, citing statutory criteria and noting the properties were previously tax-exempt when owned by Johnston Memorial Hospital.
The Washington County Board of Supervisors approved a designation of real-property tax exemption for two properties owned by Mission Dental of Virginia following a public hearing and unanimous vote.
County staff attorney Mr. Rife presented the application and walked the board through the statutory criteria required under the Code of Virginia as listed in the application materials. He said Mission Dental is tax-exempt at the federal level and provided service metrics in support of the application: “Mission Dental serves 14 counties in Southwest Virginia, providing services to the medically underserved and patients with limited opportunities for dental care,” Rife said. He told the board Mission Dental has served 8,968 individuals, has roughly 3,600 people on a waiting list for services, trains seven dental students annually as a residency site, and plans to expand in 2026 with seven additional operatories.
The agenda packet identified two properties by address and map numbers; the board materials recorded the assessments and annual taxes cited by staff. Rife also told the board the properties had been acquired from Johnston Memorial Hospital and were tax-exempt prior to Mission Dental’s purchase, so the net revenue impact to the county was reported by staff as effectively zero.
Supervisors asked clarifying questions about the number of employees (the application did not list an employee count) and whether Mission Dental coordinates with People Incorporated’s local dental services; staff said the application did not provide comprehensive partner-level details but indicated Mission Dental works with other regional health organizations.
With no members of the public speaking for or against the exemption, a supervisor moved to approve the designation and the board voted unanimously, 7-0, to grant the exemption.
The board’s action was recorded as an approval of Mission Dental’s application to designate specified property for real-property tax exemption. The decision followed staff’s presentation of the seven statutory criteria included in the application materials and the board’s finding, as reflected in the hearing, that those criteria were met.
Next steps: the exemption will be reflected in county records according to the county’s administrative procedures for property tax exemptions.
