Kent County voters reject the 20-year jail millage increase by about 58,000 votes: what the “no” means for taxpayers and the jail

GRAND RAPIDS — Kent County voters turned down a 20-year renewal and increase of the property tax that helps pay for the county jail and juvenile detention, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election.

The corrections and detention millage failed 174,341 votes to 115,998, MLive reported from the unofficial count. By our math, that is about 60% no and 40% yes, a margin of 58,343 votes.

The question asked voters to raise the levy from the current 0.7332 mill to 0.98 mill for 2026 through 2045, an increase of 0.2468 mill, according to the county’s ballot information page. MLive put the jump at about 34%. On a property with a taxable value of $100,000, the yearly bill would have gone from $73.32 to $98.

What the county asked for

The county expected the higher rate to raise $37.3 million in its first year. Officials said the money was needed to keep up with rising operating costs and to modernize aging parts of the jail at 703 Ball Ave. NE, including spaces used for medical and mental health care, MLive reported. We laid out the jail question alongside the county’s zoo and museum renewal in our October preview of the Kent County millages.

The sheriff’s office first asked for 1.2 mills. A county committee settled on 0.98 mill, and the Board of Commissioners voted 11-5 in August to put it on the ballot, WOOD-TV reported. MLive said Republicans voted in favor and Democrats were opposed. Critics at that meeting said the board was rushing.

“I also am not a big supporter of increased taxes … but I do feel like the general public should have the opportunity to weigh in,” board chair Ben Greene said at the time. Commissioner Kris Pachla said the jail needs investment but that “every dollar we spend … comes out of someone’s pocket.”

What happens now

Nothing changes right away. The existing millage, first approved in 1990 and last renewed in 2008, stays in place through the 2029 levy. The original voter-approved rate was 0.84 mill before state Headlee rollbacks cut it to 0.7332, the county says.

If no replacement passes before then, the county estimates about $28.7 million a year in operating and debt-service support would have to be replaced, absorbed, offset or cut. Options it lists include budget changes, other revenue, charging cities and townships for detention, other custody arrangements or more local holding space. Any of those would take a later public vote. County officials could also bring a new proposal to voters before 2029, MLive reported.

The jail can hold 1,477 people and averages just under 1,000 a day, WOOD-TV reported. The county said the millage would not have added federal or ICE beds.

The results are unofficial. The Kent County Board of Canvassers must certify local results by Nov. 17, and the Board of State Canvassers meets by Nov. 23.

Sources:
MLive, “Kent County voters reject 20-year jail property tax increase” (Nov. 4, 2026; unofficial vote totals, $37.3 million, $28.7 million), https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2026/11/kent-county-voters-reject-20-year-jail-property-tax-increase.html
MLive, “Kent County jail millage: What voters need to know about the proposed 20-year tax hike” (Oct. 2026; 11-5 vote by party, 1990 and 2008 approvals), https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2026/10/kent-county-jail-millage-what-voters-need-to-know-about-the-proposed-20-year-tax-hike.html
Kent County, “2026 Corrections and Detention Millage” (rates, term, what approval would not decide, options if no replacement), https://www.kentcountymi.gov/2012/2026-Corrections-and-Detention-Millage
WOOD-TV, “Kent County commissioners OK ballot language for corrections millage” (1.2-mill request, 11-5 vote, Greene and Pachla quotes), https://www.woodtv.com/news/kent-county/kent-county-commissioners-ok-ballot-language-for-corrections-millage/
WOOD-TV, “Kent Co. Sheriff’s Office proposes millage to improve, maintain facilities” (jail capacity and average population), https://www.woodtv.com/news/kent-county/kent-co-sheriffs-office-proposes-millage-to-improve-maintain-facilities/
Photo: Lorie Shaull, “Vote Here sign in Minneapolis, Minnesota (50579345566).jpg,” Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0), cropped and resized, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vote_Here_sign_in_Minneapolis,_Minnesota_(50579345566).jpg

Grand Rapids · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Grand Rapids · · Kent County · Jail millage · Property taxes · Kent County Sheriff