The ceilings add to $26.26 million
Kern County’s October 27 purchasing packet lists 14 price agreements with proposed not-to-exceed amounts. What’s the Scoop With Broach added every ceiling and obtained $26.26 million.
The largest is $6.5 million for vehicle emergency equipment from AEP California. The next two are $5.6 million and $4.5 million. Together, the top three equal $16.6 million, or 63.21% of the full set.
| Group | Ceiling | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Largest agreement | $6,500,000 | 24.75% |
| Second and third | $10,100,000 | 38.46% |
| Remaining 11 | $9,660,000 | 36.79% |
| All 14 | $26,260,000 | 100% |
A ceiling is purchasing capacity, not an invoice
A not-to-exceed agreement lets departments buy eligible goods at negotiated terms up to a limit. It does not mean the county owes or will necessarily spend the entire maximum.
The agenda summary states no fiscal impact from approving the price agreements themselves. Actual fiscal impact occurs when authorized departments place orders and those orders are paid from their budgets.
Three agreements deserve most of the monitoring
Because nearly two-thirds of the combined authorization sits in three agreements, invoice testing can be risk-weighted. Public review should compare purchase orders, quantities and unit prices against the agreed catalog and ceiling.
That concentration is not evidence of overcharging. It identifies where most of the county’s potential purchasing exposure resides.
Method and limits
This newsroom transcribed all 14 proposed ceilings from the official packet, checked their sum, ranked them and calculated concentration shares. No ceiling was treated as an expenditure.
The packet does not publish future order volume, department-by-department use or realized savings. Those facts require purchase-order and payment records after the agreements take effect.
Sources and further reading
Kern Board purchasing agenda, October 27, 2026 ↗