Orange County board appoints Linda Paul as county administrator, clarifies effective date

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint Linda Paul as county administrator and approved an employment contract authorizing the chairman to execute the agreement on the board’s behalf.

The board first moved to approve the county administrator employment contract and to authorize the chairman to sign it "on behalf of the board." A separate motion to appoint Linda Paul followed after the chair asked Supervisor Marshall to make the motion. Marshall said he would “make a motion to appoint Linda Paul as county administrator effective...September 1.” The board then approved that appointment on a roll-call vote, 5-0.

Board discussion briefly turned to the correct start date after earlier statements that the appointment might be effective Sept. 21, 2025. Chair and supervisors restated the appointment motion during the meeting to confirm the effective date. Board members also offered congratulations to Paul and noted her long service to Orange County.

The meeting record shows two related formal actions: the contract-approval motion authorizing the chairman to execute the agreement and the separate appointment motion establishing the administrator’s effective date. Both actions passed with affirmative votes recorded as unanimous (5-0).

What’s next: The board did not announce additional administrative steps during the meeting; the contract execution was authorized and the effective date clarified, and staff will proceed with onboarding and administrative tasks associated with the new appointment.