Expenses and revenue both jump, but the planned loss still grows
Kern County’s Liability Insurance Self Insurance Fund adopts $30,212,887 in operating expenses for 2025–26, up 47.7% from the latest actual year. Operating revenue rises even faster, by 54.8% to $20,191,623, but remains about $10 million short of the expense authorization.
The planned operating loss is $10,021,264, 35.2% deeper than the $7,410,335 actual loss reported for 2024–25. After $6,480 of nonoperating revenue, the budget shows a $10,014,784 reduction in the fund’s position.
What’s the Scoop With Broach recalculated the county’s printed pages 328–329 and separated the size of the overall increase from the account that creates it. Liability pools are designed to absorb volatile claims, so a planned loss is not proof of wrongdoing. The public-interest issue is which cost category consumes the additional authorization and whether later claim records explain it.
| Measure | 2024–25 actual | 2025–26 adopted | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating revenue | $13,047,067 | $20,191,623 | +54.8% |
| Operating expenses | $20,457,402 | $30,212,887 | +47.7% |
| Operating loss | $7,410,335 | $10,021,264 | +35.2% |
Other charges account for 81.8% of the increase
Other charges rise from $7,831,057 to $15,807,934—an increase of $7,976,877. That one line accounts for 81.8% of the fund’s $9,755,485 total expense increase. Services and supplies rise from $12,626,345 to $14,404,953, supplying the remaining increase.
On the revenue side, the adopted plan includes $19,910,413 in charges for services, $280,000 in use of money and property, and $1,210 in miscellaneous revenue. As with other internal-service funds, those service charges are largely costs allocated to public agencies elsewhere in the county budget.
The budget’s summarized line does not disaggregate settlements, judgments, outside counsel, actuarial reserves, insurance premiums or administrative costs. Readers therefore should not equate the $15.8 million other-charges authorization with payouts in decided lawsuits.
The missing detail is the accountability gap
The record establishes that one broad account drives most of the growth and that higher interdepartmental revenue does not prevent a larger planned loss. It cannot show which exposures are growing or whether the authorization reflects expected payments, newly recognized reserves or prudent contingency.
A useful follow-up requires the fund’s actuarial valuation, claims-development schedule and transaction detail for the other-charges account, with legally protected claim information redacted. Those documents would let the public distinguish resolved costs from reserves for uncertain future liability.
This analysis is not a tally of lawsuit losses and does not attribute the increase to any named claimant, lawyer or department. Its original finding is the 81.8% concentration in a single budget line and the actual-to-adopted gap. No interviews were conducted.
Sources and further reading
Kern County FY2025–26 Adopted Budget — Liability Insurance Self Insurance Fund, printed pp328–329 ↗