Lake County officials voted 5-0 to appoint Rachel Smith as Animal Care and Control Director, effective Feb. 9, 2026, at step 2.

The action was announced after the meeting returned from closed session when an unnamed board member said, “Mister chair, I move to appoint Rachel Smith as animal care and control director effective 02/09/2026 at step 2.” The chair seconded the motion and, after calling for a vote, stated, “Hearing none, motion carries five-zero.”

The appointment was one of three items the chair had listed before the body went into closed session. The chair cited Item 8.1 as a public employee appointment pursuant to Government Code Section 54,957, subsection B; Item 8.2 as a conference with a labor negotiator naming Chief Negotiator Susan Parker and county negotiators Stephen Carter, Casey Moreno, Pam Samek and Diana Rico with employee organization LCSEA; and Item 8.3 as a public employee evaluation for the Community Development Director. No further debate or public comment on the appointment was recorded in the transcript.

The motion record in the meeting indicates the appointment will take effect on Feb. 9, 2026, and be implemented at "step 2" as stated in the motion. The meeting concluded after the vote.