The adopted plan draws $784,467 from the balance
Kern’s governmental-fund summary shows Environmental Health Services beginning 2025–26 with $1,061,561 available. It adds $9,725,524 in new financing, for $10,787,085 in total resources.
Planned financing uses are $10,509,991, leaving $277,094. The implied $784,467 draw equals 73.9% of the opening balance.
| Entry | Adopted amount | Share of opening balance |
|---|---|---|
| Opening available balance | $1,061,561 | 100% |
| Planned balance draw | $784,467 | 73.9% |
| Ending obligated balance | $277,094 | 26.1% |
New financing is lower than the prior actual year
Schedule 5 reports $10,106,790 in actual 2024–25 financing sources and $9,725,524 adopted for 2025–26. That is a $381,266 decline, or 3.8%.
A reserve draw can be deliberate when fee receipts and inspection workloads vary. The public-interest question is whether the remaining cushion and fees match the program’s enforcement obligations.
Inspection outcomes are outside the budget schedule
The schedules do not show restaurant inspections, hazardous-material permits, complaint response, enforcement cases or fee-waiver policy. They cannot establish whether public-health protection will improve or weaken.
Monthly workload, fee and reserve reports would allow readers to distinguish planned use of accumulated fees from an ongoing structural gap.
Method and limitation
The newsroom reconciled Schedule 2’s opening balance, current financing, uses and ending balance, and compared current financing with Schedule 5’s prior actual figure.
Fund balance is not automatically surplus cash: legal restrictions and future commitments may apply. The summary does not identify those restrictions, so this report does not treat all $1.06 million as discretionary.