A near-flat revenue plan meets much higher operating costs
Kern County’s adopted 2025–26 Garage Internal Service Fund budget expects operating expenses to climb 28.4% from the latest actual year while total operating revenue falls 1.4%. The result is a planned operating margin of $107,025—83.4% below the $646,286 recorded in 2024–25.
What’s the Scoop With Broach calculated the changes from the four-year statement on printed pages 320–321 of the county’s adopted budget. The comparison uses 2024–25 actuals, not the higher estimate county officials were using before year-end, and the 2025–26 adopted column. That keeps the base consistent while showing what the new budget assumes must change.
Because the garage is an internal-service operation, most of its money comes from charges to other county departments rather than a direct tax levy. The accountability question is therefore not whether the fund earns a commercial profit; it is whether the county has left enough operating room when departments collectively pay for fleet repair, fuel and related services.
| Measure | 2024–25 actual | 2025–26 adopted | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating revenue | $3,669,946 | $3,619,825 | −1.4% |
| Operating expenses | $2,736,086 | $3,512,800 | +28.4% |
| Operating income | $646,286 | $107,025 | −83.4% |
Payroll and purchased services drive the increase
The adopted plan raises salaries and employee benefits from $792,762 to $1,189,737, a 50.1% increase. Services and supplies rise from $1,270,753 to $1,675,897, up 31.9%. Other charges decline slightly, from $672,571 to $647,166. The two growing categories more than offset that reduction.
Charges for services supply $3,412,725 of the adopted operating revenue, or 94.3%. Use of money and property contributes $157,000 and miscellaneous revenue $50,100. That concentration means the garage’s finances ultimately depend on the rates and activity billed across other county budgets.
The fund also budgets $650,010 in other nonoperating revenue and $10,000 in gains, producing a planned $767,035 increase after those items. Those additions improve the bottom line, but they do not erase the narrower operating spread between recurring service revenue and recurring operating costs.
What the budget does—and does not—establish
The adopted figures establish that county officials approved a materially more expensive operating plan without a matching increase in garage revenue. They do not establish that costs have already risen, that departments will receive less service or that the fund faces insolvency. A budget is an authorization and forecast; actual transactions can differ.
The public document also does not identify the number of vehicles serviced, technician vacancies, shop throughput or the billing rate for each service. Those measures are necessary to determine whether higher payroll and service spending reflects added capacity, inflation, delayed work or lower productivity.
The next meaningful check is the county’s 2025–26 year-end actual statement: compare billed service revenue, labor expense and work completed with the adopted amounts. This report’s original contribution is the side-by-side operating-margin calculation and expense-driver breakdown, not a claim that the planned costs are improper. No interviews were conducted.
Sources and further reading
Kern County FY2025–26 Adopted Budget — Garage Internal Service Fund, printed pp320–321 ↗