A revenue-supported unit becomes locally financed
Development Services spent $1,937,354 against $2,628,960 in revenue in fiscal 2024–25 actual results, producing $691,606 more revenue than spending. Kern County’s adopted 2025–26 plan instead sets $2,799,852 in appropriations against $2,218,180 in revenue.
That creates a $581,672 county-financed requirement. The movement from a $691,606 surplus to a $581,672 cost is a $1,273,278 financing reversal.
| Measure | FY 2024–25 actual | FY 2025–26 adopted | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.63M | $2.22M | −15.6% |
| Services and supplies | $1.78M | $2.52M | +41.7% |
| Other financing uses | $85,044 | $245,779 | +189.0% |
| Total appropriations | $1.94M | $2.80M | +44.5% |
| Financing position | $691,606 surplus | $581,672 cost | $1.27M reversal |
Service spending rises as fee revenue falls
Services and supplies rise $740,776 and account for 85.9% of the total appropriation increase. Other financing uses rise $160,735, while capital assets fall from $41,897 in actual spending to no adopted amount.
Charges for services fall from $1,086,573 to $690,350, a $396,223 decline. Use-of-money revenue falls $4,497, and the adopted column shows no license-and-permit or miscellaneous revenue after $10,060 combined in the actual column.
The financing reversal is clear; its cause is not
The original finding is the combined effect of a 44.5% spending increase and a 15.6% revenue decrease. A unit that generated a prior-year surplus is budgeted to require local support, a larger change than either side alone reveals.
Schedule 9 does not report permit volume, fee schedules, project review times or the contracts included in services and supplies. The summary cannot determine whether receipts were conservatively estimated or whether workload shifted.
Method and limitations
The newsroom subtracted appropriations from revenue for each column and measured the movement between the resulting positions. The calculation uses the county’s full-dollar values, not the rounded table labels.
The adopted budget is prospective. Development activity, fee collections and contract spending can vary, and later actuals are required to determine whether the planned reversal occurred.