Kent County is required by law to run a jail. The core of that building went up in 1972. Here's what the proposal actually costs, what it fixes, and what changed when the committee reviewed it.
The proposal renews the existing millage and increases it by 0.2468 mills — from the current certified rate of 0.7332 to 0.98.
| Home value | Taxable value | Today | Proposed | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $100,000 | $73.32 | $98.00 | +$24.68 |
| $300,000 | $150,000 | $109.98 | $147.00 | +$37.02 |
| $400,000 | $200,000 | $146.64 | $196.00 | +$49.36 |
| $500,000 | $250,000 | $183.30 | $245.00 | +$61.70 |
| $600,000 | $300,000 | $219.96 | $294.00 | +$74.04 |
Illustrative. Taxable value is generally about half of market value; your parcel's actual taxable value determines your bill. Rates from the County's signed 2026 L‑4029 tax rate request.
Sheriff LaJoye-Young requested 1.2 mills. The review committee asked the County's own Fiscal Services Department — independent of the Sheriff's Office — to test the assumptions rather than accept them. Several were corrected. The committee recommended 0.98.
Kent County is legally obligated to operate a correctional facility, and providing adequate medical care in custody is a constitutional requirement. The question isn't whether to pay for it — it's whether a dedicated millage voters approve and can end, or the general fund, with no vote at all.
The original wing — jail administration, the medical unit, the former kitchen, maintenance and laundry — has reached the end of its serviceable life. A 2022 feasibility study scoped the renovation at roughly $38 million.
The plan eliminates the $50.42 per day the County charges cities to hold their arrestees. Combined city charges grew 60% in two years — from $781,737 in 2023 to $1,247,363 in 2025.
A companion amendment raises the County's required capital set-aside from 0.20 to 0.30 mills — written to take effect only if voters approve the millage in November. The funding and the accountability move together.
Estimated annual savings from eliminating the daily jail per diem:
| City | Estimated annual relief |
|---|---|
| Grand Rapids | ~$547,295 |
| Wyoming | ~$159,251 |
| Kentwood | ~$107,273 |
| Walker | ~$80,238 |
| Grandville | ~$27,883 |
The County retains a flat $25 arrest-booking fee, replacing the previous $18.28-per-arrest charge and the daily per diem.
The jail population is lower than a decade ago. Operational demand is not. The facility is central booking for every law enforcement agency in the county, and the people in custody today require significantly more medical, mental-health and security resources than they did in 2015.
Comparisons are 2015 to 2025.
The facility also provides medication-assisted treatment, mental-health care, suicide prevention, and more than twenty programs aimed at reducing repeat offenses. Most people held there return to Kent County neighborhoods.
The cost of detention doesn't disappear — the County is required to provide it either way. Roughly $28.7 million a year in operating and debt-service support would have to be absorbed by the general fund, reduced elsewhere, or shifted back onto local governments.
The general fund is what pays for road patrol, investigations, records and court transport. Those are the functions that absorb the pressure, because the mandate itself can't be reduced.
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Kent County doesn't get to choose whether it runs a jail. The only question is how it gets paid for — and whether the people paying for it get a say.