Antioch Switches Fuel Supplier, Doubles Fuel Budget to $1.25M

Antioch will buy its fuel through a Texas-based purchasing cooperative under a deal that could run seven years without a new competitive bid. At an Oct. 1, 2026, special meeting, the City Council voted 3-1 to sign with Pinnacle Petroleum, raise the fuel budget by $650,000 and pay $228,705.61 to a vendor that never met the city's insurance terms. Mayor Pro Tem Donald Freitas cast the lone no vote on both items, warning that the city's purchasing controls are failing.

• Pinnacle Petroleum fuel deal approved 3-1: four years plus three optional one-year extensions, capped at $1.25M a year
• Fuel budget rises $650,000 as unleaded jumps 75% and diesel 121% in nine months
• $228,705.61 paid to Hunt and Sons for fuel delivered under a contract the city never executed
• Freitas calls for a purchasing review and questions why fuel was accepted without required insurance

The basics: The council approved five actions in one motion. It rescinded the Hunt and Sons award, joined the 791 Cooperative Purchasing Program under Antioch Municipal Code 3-14.12, approved a Pinnacle Petroleum agreement for unleaded and diesel fuel, and authorized a $650,000 budget amendment with matching revenue billed to departments. Cooperative purchasing lets the city buy through an existing co-op agreement instead of running its own bid.