Kent County unanimously passed the FY2027 budget, with the largest portion going to the prison industrial complex

Last year the FY2026 budget for Kent County was $668 million, which was passed by a vote of 16 – 4. All 9 of the Democratic members of the Kent County Commission voted for the $668 million FY2026 Annual Budget, while 7 of the 11 Republican commissioners that voted also voted to approve.

Now if you look at how much of the $668 million went to the Sheriff’s Office, the Kent County Jail, the Courts and the Prosecutor’s office the combined total came out to about 43% of the budget, roughly $300 million.

The total for the FY2027 Kent County budget went up to $696 million, an increase of $31 million from last year. This year, the Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the budget, with three Democrats not showing up to that meeting (Pachla, LaGrand and McCloud) which is included in the September 10th County Commission minutes.

Once again, the combined amount of the Sheriff’s Office, the Kent County Jail, the Courts and the Prosecutor’s office was over 40% of the budget. These entities I just listed are what abolitionists (like Angela Davis) have named as the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC). In recent decades people are also referring to the PIC as the carceral system or the carceral state. Activists and organizers have been using these terms to make the point that the system of cops, courts and jails is a system of punishment.

The majority of those in the Kent County Jail are disproportionately Black and Brown, plus the majority are working class poor people. Most of them are in jail for non-violent offenses, and most of them are unable to post bond, so they have been sitting in jail without being found guilty. Above is just one of the graphics created from research in a report from Linc Up, which you can access here.

When politicians, like the Kent County Commission vote to use over 40% of public tax dollars on the Prison Industrial Complex, they are voting to pushing poor working class people and disproportionately Black and Brown residents.These politicians do it without regard for the lives of those in this carceral system, which practices collective punishment. And yet, people will continue to vote for these commissioners.