Join the campaign to Vote No on more funding for the Kent County Jail on November 3rd

Last month the Kent County Commission voted to adopt the FY2027 budget for Kent County, which will be $668 million. Just over 40% of that budget will go towards the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, the Kent County Jail, the Courts and the Prosecutor’s office, a system known as the Prison Industrial Complex.

Taxpayers in Kent County are being asked to give the Kent County Sheriff’s Office even more money with the November 3rd Ballot that includes a millage to increase funding for the Kent County Jail, which is listed as the Kent County Millage Renewal and Increase Corrections and Detention Facilities. The language of this ballot initiate reads as:

Shall Kent County levy 0.98 mill ($0.98 per $1,000 of taxable value) on the taxable value of all real and personal property subject to taxation for the period 2026 through 2045 inclusive to expand, remodel, equip, operate, maintain, and defray debt service for Kent County Correction and Detention Facilities? This millage is a renewal of the previously authorized millage which expires following the 2029 levy as well as an authorization to increase the existing millage by 0.2468 mill ($0.2468 per $1,000 of taxable value). The amount raised by the proposed levy in the first calendar year is estimated at $37,326,699.00.

To the extent permitted by law, a portion of the revenues from this millage will be captured by local authorities for authorized purposes. The total amount of captured tax increment revenues from such millage in the first calendar year of the levy is estimated at $1,497,204.07. The authorities in Kent County capturing a portion of the revenues from this levy include the following: the Downtown Development Authorities for the Cities of Cedar Springs, Grandville, Lowell, Rockford, Walker, the Charter Township of Cascade, and the Townships of Bowne, Sparta, and Tyrone; the Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities of Grand Rapids, Grandville, Kentwood, Rockford, Walker, and Wyoming; and the Monroe North Tax increment Financing Authority of the City of Grand Rapids, Local Development Financing Authority of the City of Grand Rapids, and the Corridor Improvement Authority of the City of Grand Rapids.

As expected the language for this millage is vague and confusing. On top of that, the Kent County Sheriff presented on this millage to the Grand Rapids City Commission’s Committee of the Whole meeting, using misleading talking points, which I pointed out in a previous article, plus you can watch the Sheriff’s pitch for more funding  at 44:30 in the video.

Fortunately, the Urban Core Collective’s Power Fund has a well organized campaign to counter the narrative from the Sheriff’s Office with solid information and analysis on their Vote No campaign website linked here.

The campaign presents three main reasons for voting no on this millage, which are shown in the graphic here above. However, we encourage you to do a deep dive into the large narratives that have been created on their website, along with the Frequently Asked Questions section at the bottom of the website.  

Some of the critical talking points deal with the fact that the County has mismanaged their existing funds (our tax dollars) and with the increased cost of living it would be unfair to demand more from taxpayers. Other important issues are the fact that the Kent County Jail is currently cooperating with ICE by engaging in ICE detainers. Lastly, it is important to note that there is a serious racial discrimination dynamic at the jail. In Kent County, Black people only make up 11.1% of the total population, but 47.5% of the incarcerated population.

The Urban Core Collective’s Power Fund is inviting people to share the information on the website and to follow this campaign on Facebook.

In addition, the campaign is inviting people to be involved in the following ways:

1. Please follow the campaign’s Facebook and Instagram pages and invite 5 friends to follow the Vote No On Detention pages too. Please share the website link far and wide.
2. Click here to sign-up to get involved with the campaign. We’re inviting groups and orgs to join us for an “adopt a precinct” effort to help expand our canvassing efforts. If you know a group or
3. RSVP for our campaign launch event on Saturday, October 10th from 10am-12:30pm at the UCC office. Please invite a friend or two to RSVP.
4. RSVP for Vote No rally on Monday, October 12th from 6-7pm at the Kent County Sheriff’s office (701 Ball Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503).

This campaign also includes numerous community-based groups and individuals who have been involved in grassroots organizing for several decades. If you believe in economic justice, racial justice and oppose government surveillance, then you should definitely Vote NO on this millage November 3rd.