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Charter Township

Gaines Charter Township

TownshipKent County

Gaines Charter Township is a charter township in Kent County, Michigan. In 2025, primary homes here pay a total of 27.96–30.38 mills in property tax, depending on the school district; rentals, second homes and businesses pay 45.96–48.38 mills. It levied property tax in 3 tax areas in 2025. In fiscal year 2025 it reported $20.4 million in spending across all its funds. It has 16 boards and sub-entities.

Total property tax rate, primary homes

27.96–30.38

mills in 2025 · 3 tax areas · about $4,548–$4,943 a year on a median home (estimate)

Total property tax rate, rentals, second homes and businesses

45.96–48.38

mills in 2025 · includes the school operating tax

Levies, 2025

2

in 3 tax areas

Boards and sub-entities

16

Total property tax rates here, 2025

What property pays to every taxing body (the State, county, schools, local government and others), by tax area. A mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value.

Compare with every tax area in Kent County →

School district Primary homes mills Median home est. yearly tax Rentals, second homes and businesses mills
Byron Center Public Schools 30.3808 $4,943 48.3808
Caledonia Community Schools 29.4189 $4,786 47.4189
Kentwood Public Schools 27.9554 $4,548 45.9554

Rates differ within Gaines Charter Township because parts of it are in different school districts (Byron Center Public Schools, Caledonia Community Schools and Kentwood Public Schools).

Kent County's certified rates split each area's total between a summer and a winter tax bill; open an area below to see its split.

Primary homes, which their owners live in, pay the homestead rate; so do qualified farmland and a few other kinds of property exempt from the school operating tax. Rentals, second homes and most businesses pay the non-homestead rate, which includes it. What these terms mean

Median home, estimated: the yearly tax a new buyer would pay on a primary home at Kent County's median value, $325,400 (Census Bureau, 2024): half the value times the mills, divided by 1,000. An estimate, not a bill. How the estimate works

Every levy, by tax area

Byron Center Public Schools · 30.3808 primary homes, 48.3808 other

Billed in 2 parts, in mills: primary homes summer 21.0723, winter 9.3085; rentals, second homes and businesses summer 30.0723, winter 18.3085.

Levy Levied by Primary homes mills Median home est. yearly tax Rentals, second homes and businesses mills
School Debt Byron Center Public Schools 7.0000 $1,139 7.0000
State Education Tax State of Michigan 6.0000 $976 6.0000
ISD Voted Special Education Kent ISD 4.3364 $706 4.3364
County Allocated Operating Kent County 4.0605 $661 4.0605
Community College Grand Rapids Community College 1.6793 $273 1.6793
Debt or Street Lights (Real Property Only) Gaines Charter Township 1.5000 $244 1.5000
Library Kent District Library 1.0832 $176 1.0832
Building and Site Byron Center Public Schools 0.9619 $157 0.9619
ISD Voted Vocational Education Kent ISD 0.9310 $151 0.9310
Allocated or Charter Operating Gaines Charter Township 0.8012 $130 0.8012
Jail Kent County 0.7417 $121 0.7417
Senior Citizens Kent County 0.4914 $80 0.4914
Zoo and Museum Kent County 0.4134 $67 0.4134
Ready by Five Kent County 0.2476 $40 0.2476
ISD Allocated Operating Kent ISD 0.0841 $14 0.0841
Veterans Kent County 0.0491 $8 0.0491
School Operating (Non-Homestead) Byron Center Public Schools 0.0000 $0 18.0000
Caledonia Community Schools · 29.4189 primary homes, 47.4189 other

Billed in 2 parts, in mills: primary homes summer 20.5913, winter 8.8276; rentals, second homes and businesses summer 29.5913, winter 17.8276.

Levy Levied by Primary homes mills Median home est. yearly tax Rentals, second homes and businesses mills
School Debt Caledonia Community Schools 7.0000 $1,139 7.0000
State Education Tax State of Michigan 6.0000 $976 6.0000
ISD Voted Special Education Kent ISD 4.3364 $706 4.3364
County Allocated Operating Kent County 4.0605 $661 4.0605
Community College Grand Rapids Community College 1.6793 $273 1.6793
Debt or Street Lights (Real Property Only) Gaines Charter Township 1.5000 $244 1.5000
Library Kent District Library 1.0832 $176 1.0832
ISD Voted Vocational Education Kent ISD 0.9310 $151 0.9310
Allocated or Charter Operating Gaines Charter Township 0.8012 $130 0.8012
Jail Kent County 0.7417 $121 0.7417
Senior Citizens Kent County 0.4914 $80 0.4914
Zoo and Museum Kent County 0.4134 $67 0.4134
Ready by Five Kent County 0.2476 $40 0.2476
ISD Allocated Operating Kent ISD 0.0841 $14 0.0841
Veterans Kent County 0.0491 $8 0.0491
School Operating (Non-Homestead) Caledonia Community Schools 0.0000 $0 18.0000
Kentwood Public Schools · 27.9554 primary homes, 45.9554 other

Billed in 2 parts, in mills: primary homes summer 19.8596, winter 8.0958; rentals, second homes and businesses summer 28.8596, winter 17.0958.

Levy Levied by Primary homes mills Median home est. yearly tax Rentals, second homes and businesses mills
State Education Tax State of Michigan 6.0000 $976 6.0000
ISD Voted Special Education Kent ISD 4.3364 $706 4.3364
County Allocated Operating Kent County 4.0605 $661 4.0605
School Debt Kentwood Public Schools 4.0000 $651 4.0000
Community College Grand Rapids Community College 1.6793 $273 1.6793
Building and Site Kentwood Public Schools 1.5365 $250 1.5365
Debt or Street Lights (Real Property Only) Gaines Charter Township 1.5000 $244 1.5000
Library Kent District Library 1.0832 $176 1.0832
ISD Voted Vocational Education Kent ISD 0.9310 $151 0.9310
Allocated or Charter Operating Gaines Charter Township 0.8012 $130 0.8012
Jail Kent County 0.7417 $121 0.7417
Senior Citizens Kent County 0.4914 $80 0.4914
Zoo and Museum Kent County 0.4134 $67 0.4134
Ready by Five Kent County 0.2476 $40 0.2476
ISD Allocated Operating Kent ISD 0.0841 $14 0.0841
Veterans Kent County 0.0491 $8 0.0491
School Operating (Non-Homestead) Kentwood Public Schools 0.0000 $0 18.0000

Where the property tax goes here

Each tax area's total for primary homes, split by who levies it.

Of the $4,548–$4,943 a year a new buyer of a median primary home here would pay (an estimate), about $374 goes to Gaines Charter Township (8%). The rest goes to the other bodies that levy here: the State, the county, the schools and others.

Gaines Charter Township's 3 tax areas rank 55th, 68th and 84th highest of Kent County's 94 for primary homes. See every area

  • State
  • County
  • ISD and college
  • School district
  • City, township or village
  • Library, transit and other
  • Gaines Charter Township Byron Center Public Schools 30.3808 mills $4,943

    Gaines Charter Township with Byron Center Public Schools: 30.3808 mills in total (State 6.0000, County 6.0037, ISD and college 7.0308, School district 7.9619, City, township or village 2.3012, Library, transit and other 1.0832), estimated $4,943 a year for a new buyer

  • Gaines Charter Township Caledonia Community Schools 29.4189 mills $4,786

    Gaines Charter Township with Caledonia Community Schools: 29.4189 mills in total (State 6.0000, County 6.0037, ISD and college 7.0308, School district 7.0000, City, township or village 2.3012, Library, transit and other 1.0832), estimated $4,786 a year for a new buyer

  • Gaines Charter Township Kentwood Public Schools 27.9554 mills $4,548

    Gaines Charter Township with Kentwood Public Schools: 27.9554 mills in total (State 6.0000, County 6.0037, ISD and college 7.0308, School district 5.5365, City, township or village 2.3012, Library, transit and other 1.0832), estimated $4,548 a year for a new buyer

The figures as a table
Tax area State County ISD and college School district City, township or village Library, transit and other Total Estimated tax
Gaines Charter Township, Byron Center Public Schools 6.0000 6.0037 7.0308 7.9619 2.3012 1.0832 30.3808 $4,943
Gaines Charter Township, Caledonia Community Schools 6.0000 6.0037 7.0308 7.0000 2.3012 1.0832 29.4189 $4,786
Gaines Charter Township, Kentwood Public Schools 6.0000 6.0037 7.0308 5.5365 2.3012 1.0832 27.9554 $4,548

Median home, estimated: the yearly tax a new buyer would pay on a primary home at Kent County's median value, $325,400 (Census Bureau, 2024): half the value times the mills, divided by 1,000. An estimate, not a bill. How the estimate works

What Gaines Charter Township levies, 2025

Only its own millages, part of the totals above, and how many tax areas each is levied in.

Levy Primary homes mills Median home est. yearly tax Rentals, second homes and businesses mills Tax areas
Debt or Street Lights (Real Property Only) 1.5000 $244 1.5000 3
Allocated or Charter Operating 0.8012 $130 0.8012 3

Median home, estimated: the yearly tax a new buyer would pay on a primary home at Kent County's median value, $325,400 (Census Bureau, 2024): half the value times the mills, divided by 1,000. An estimate, not a bill. How the estimate works

Money in and out, fiscal year 2025

From its annual financial report, as filed with the Michigan Department of Treasury. Its fiscal year ends in December.

Revenue

$25.5M

all funds

Spending

$20.4M

all funds

Spending per resident

$673

2024 population: 30,302

General fund spending

$5.6M

budget: $6.1M

Spending by purpose

All funds. Share of $20,408,094 in total.

  • Public works $6,057,284 30%
    Public Works (Non-Act 51) $634,218
    Water and/or Sewer Systems $5,291,796
    All Other Public Works $131,270
  • Capital outlay, debt service and other $4,881,052 24%
    Capital Outlay $2,280,900
    Debt Service $316,500
    Depreciation $2,283,652
  • Public safety $4,842,981 24%
    Police/Sheriff/Constable $1,466,043
    Fire $2,785,755
    Building Inspection & Regulation Activities $591,183
  • General government $1,846,404 9%
    Legislative (Council, Board, Commission) $10,162
    Chief Executive $325,114
    Treasurer $188,260
    Clerk $273,055
    Assessing Equalization $315,713
    Elections $42,841
    Building and Grounds $314,208
    All Other General Government $377,051
  • Community and economic development $306,342 2%
    Community Planning and Zoning $306,342
  • Recreation and culture $120,589 1%
    Parks and Recreation $54,020
    Library $66,569
  • Health and welfare $50,607 <1%
    All Other Health & Welfare $50,607
  • Transfers out and special items $2,302,835 11%
    Transfers (Out) $2,302,835

Revenue by source

All funds. Share of $25,527,976 in total.

  • Charges for services $7,934,427 31%
    All Other Services Rendered Charges $7,830,727
    All Other Sales, Use, & Admission Fees $103,700
  • Other revenue $4,410,773 17%
    Public and Private Contributions $4,397,463
    Miscellaneous Other Revenue $13,310
  • State grants $3,431,988 13%
    State Revenue Sharing $3,299,521
    Public Safety $44,425
    Other General/All Other State Aid Grants $88,042
  • Special assessments $1,834,388 7%
    Special Assessments $1,834,388
  • Interest and rents $1,671,744 7%
    Interest & Dividends $1,646,454
    Rents & Royalties $25,290
  • Federal grants $1,667,990 7%
    Public Safety $200,000
    All Other Federal Aid Grants $1,467,990
  • Taxes $1,633,674 6%
    Payment in-Lieu-of Taxes (PILOT) $23,876
    Trailer Taxes (Act 243 of 1959) $7,839
    Industrial Facilities Tax (Act 198 of 1974) $30,738
    Property Tax (includes, delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, fees, community wide special assessments) $1,571,221
  • Licenses and permits $640,157 3%
    Business Licenses and Permits $640,157
  • Borrowing and transfers in $2,302,835 9%
    Transfers In $2,302,835

"All funds" is the report's total column: the general fund, other governmental funds, enterprise funds such as water and sewer, internal service funds and component units. Its totals include money moved between the government's own funds, and revenue includes money borrowed. Spending per resident is total spending divided by the population shown; the shares are each heading's part of its total. Open a heading to see the lines filed under it.

Population: DashBoard_Metrics (MI Community Financial Dashboard), Michigan Department of Treasury.

Source: FY2025 F65 Township Part 2, Michigan Department of Treasury, retrieved November 3, 2026.

Revenue and spending, fiscal years 2016–2025

All funds, as filed each year.

Revenue Spending
The figures as a table
Fiscal year Revenue Spending General fund spending Long-term debt
2025 $25,527,976 $20,408,094 $5,555,655 $1,266,000
2024 $29,137,497 $16,695,963 $4,872,879 —
2023 $18,563,438 $15,871,174 $4,777,252 —
2022 $19,447,333 $13,055,065 $4,130,293 —
2021 $15,558,285 $11,432,132 $5,271,601 —
2020 $13,898,784 $10,240,629 $4,584,310 —
2019 $10,539,242 $10,164,741 $3,948,767 —
2018 $15,757,103 $9,813,879 $3,953,227 —
2017 $13,904,004 $10,251,719 $4,206,864 —
2016 $12,038,603 $8,109,698 $3,965,621 —

Each year links to the dataset it comes from. A year with dashes across has no report in the State's data.

Debt, pensions and staff, fiscal year 2025

As reported in the same filing.

Debt and fund balance

Long-term debt at year end
$1,266,000
General fund balance at year end
$7,340,161
Of which unassigned
$7,080,767

Pensions and retiree health care

Unfunded pension liability
—
Pension funded, general employees
—
Pension funded, police and fire
—
Unfunded retiree health care (OPEB)
—

Staff

Police
1
Fire
34
Combined public safety
—
All other staff
37
Wages and salaries
$3,029,386

A dash means the State's data has no figure for that line. Its datasets leave out zero amounts in most years, so a dash can also be a zero that was filed. The unfunded pension liability is the filing's "aggregate pension liability" line.

Source: FY2025 F65 Township Part 2, Michigan Department of Treasury, retrieved November 3, 2026.

Boards and sub-entities

Authorities and special districts

Boards, commissions and committees

Transparency checks

What this body files with the State and posts online, checked against the law and good practice.

Grade pending

A grade appears once every check below has been read and the site has set its grading scale. Every check counts the same.

Required by law

5 found · 0 not found

  • Found: Audit filed with the State for the latest fiscal year

    Treasury's Document Search shows the audit for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 as received, sent May 29, 2026.

    Uniform Budgeting and Accounting Act, MCL 141.421 et seq.; MCL 141.921 · FY2025 · Read September 27, 2026 from State records · Evidence for Audit filed with the State for the latest fiscal year

  • Found: Audit filed on time

    Sent May 29, 2026, within six months of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (due June 30, 2026; fiscal year end from its F-65).

    Due six months after fiscal year end; MCL 141.921 · FY2025 · Read September 27, 2026 from State records · Evidence for Audit filed on time

  • Found: Annual financial report (F-65) filed with the State

    Treasury's Document Search shows the annual financial report (F-65) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 as received, sent May 29, 2026.

    MCL 141.424(3) · FY2025 · Read September 27, 2026 from State records · Evidence for Annual financial report (F-65) filed with the State

  • Found: Annual financial report (F-65) filed on time

    Sent May 29, 2026, within six months of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (due June 30, 2026; fiscal year end from its F-65).

    Due six months after fiscal year end; MCL 141.424(3) · FY2025 · Read September 27, 2026 from State records · Evidence for Annual financial report (F-65) filed on time

  • Found: FOIA procedures and written public summary posted

    The homepage links the Clerk's FOIA section, which says the policy and procedure documents are in the Document Center; its FOIA folder holds "Summary of FOIA Procedures and Guidelines.pdf" and "FOIA Policy.pdf" (named by file; the links have no text).

    MCL 15.234(4) · Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for FOIA procedures and written public summary posted

Good practice

6 found · 5 not found

  • Found: Current budget posted

    Document Center > Annual Budget posts "2026 Adopted Budget" for the fiscal year in progress (calendar 2026).

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Current budget posted

  • Found: Budgets for the past three years posted

    Annual Budget posts the 2025, 2024 and 2023 adopted budgets (and back to 2017).

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Budgets for the past three years posted

  • Not found: Latest audit posted

    No audit was found on the Clerk (Accounting, Accountability), Treasurer or Document Center pages.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Latest audit posted

  • Not found: Budget posted as a spreadsheet or data file

    The budgets in the Document Center are PDFs; no spreadsheet or data file was found.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Budget posted as a spreadsheet or data file

  • Found: Regular meeting schedule for the year posted

    Agendas/Packets/Minutes links "GCT 2026 meeting dates", the board's 2026 meeting calendar.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Regular meeting schedule for the year posted

  • Found: Agendas posted for the past 12 months

    The Granicus meetings portal (embedded on Agendas/Packets/Minutes) posts an agenda for every Township Board of Trustees meeting from September 8, 2025 to September 14, 2026, and the September 28, 2026 agenda. The Granicus portal was read page by page in the publisher's Chrome: its robots.txt blocks automated readers.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website, page by page · Evidence for Agendas posted for the past 12 months

  • Found: Minutes posted for the past 12 months

    The Granicus portal posts minutes for every Township Board of Trustees meeting from September 8, 2025 to July 13, 2026. The Granicus portal was read page by page in the publisher's Chrome: its robots.txt blocks automated readers.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website, page by page · Evidence for Minutes posted for the past 12 months

  • Found: Members' names and a way to contact them posted

    The Supervisor, Clerk and Treasurer pages and Trustees name all seven board members, each with an email address (one trustee's is the township's general address).

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Members' names and a way to contact them posted

  • Not found: Check register (payments) posted

    No check register or payments list was found on the Clerk, Treasurer or Document Center pages.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Check register (payments) posted

  • Not found: Employee pay or salary schedule posted

    No salary schedule, pay ranges or pay by position was found; Employment lists pay only for current job openings.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Employee pay or salary schedule posted

  • Not found: Current contracts posted

    No list of current contracts or contract in force was found; Requests for Proposals lists none.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Current contracts posted

About

Type
Charter Township

Codes

Census of Governments ID
167078
Census GEOID (county subdivision)
2608131240
Michigan Treasury unit code
411100

Sources

Where this page's facts come from.

Open Government Project · a nonpartisan, nonprofit project

Every figure comes from a public record, cited on its page.