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Imperial County supervisors appoint CEO Kathleen Lang; board takes positions on state bills, approves voter-choice transition funding
Summary
The board appointed Dr. Kathleen Lang as county executive officer and voted on state bill positions, approved out-of-state travel, and authorized $520,956 from LATCF to begin transitioning to the Voter's Choice Act.
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors voted June 10 to appoint Dr. Kathleen Lang as the county's new county executive officer and approved a set of policy positions and administrative actions, including funding to begin a transition to the Voter's Choice Act election model.
County Counsel announced the closed-session decision that the board voted to appoint Dr. Kathleen Lang effective June 27, 2025, and stated the starting annual salary as $290,000; the announcement said the board took no final action on the CEO's compensation, which will return to the board as part of a June 17, 2025, employment-agreement item. The closed-session roll call recorded District 1: no; District 2: no; District 3: yes; District 4: yes; District 5: yes.
The board also took formal positions on three state bills. Staff presented SB 707 (Durazo), which would expand teleconferencing requirements under the Brown Act; staff recommended opposing the bill unless it is amended to provide funding for implementation, saying the county lacks reimbursable funding for the mandate. The board approved an "oppose unless amended" position after public comment from Sarah Emts, area-agency on aging director, who said the bill would impose unfunded burdens on small offices.
On SB 346 (Durazo), which would strengthen local authority to audit and enforce transient-occupancy taxes for short-term rentals, staff recommended support and the board voted to support the measure. On AB 470 (McKner), regarding carrier-of-last-resort regulation for landline service, staff recommended opposition; the board approved an opposition position following public comment that emphasized the impact on rural and vulnerable residents.
Administrative approvals included authorization for three workforce/economic development staff to attend an out-of-state Geographic Solutions training (authorized with standard funding sources) and the resolution to hire a recent retiree in county counsel's office as extra help. The board also approved a request to use Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF) monies in the amount of $520,956 to support a multi-year transition to the Voter's Choice Act election model, subject to required public outreach and the formal election-administration plan process.
Votes listed in the meeting record include the closed-session roll call for the CEO appointment and multiple "motion carries" outcomes for other items; where roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript, they are reflected below. Where the transcript records only "motion carries," the article reports the documented outcome without inventing a tally or mover/second details.
Ending: The board scheduled follow-up actions: final CEO compensation on the June 17 action calendar and continued implementation steps for the voter-choice transition (public workshops, outreach and a final plan submission to the California Secretary of State).
