The Imperial County Board of Supervisors voted this week to publicly rebuke their chief accountant and top auditor, sending another tremor through the county government.
The five-member Board unanimously approved a vote of “no confidence” in county Auditor-Controller Karina Alvarez. County officials accused Alvarez of mismanaging her office, delaying key financial reports and jeopardizing at least one federal grant.
“It’s putting the county at risk in our credit rating,” said county Board of Supervisors Chairperson John Hawk during Tuesday’s meeting.
The decision came just two weeks after supervisors fired two key administrators – county CEO Miguel Figueroa and Clerk of the Board Blanca Acosta. County officials have declined to say what led to the firings, citing an ongoing investigation.
County Human Resources and Risk Management Director Rodolfo Aguayo has also reportedly been placed on administrative leave, according to the Imperial Valley Press.
On Tuesday, Alvarez defended her record. She said she inherited a troubled office, which was left reeling after the previous auditor-controller, Josue Mercado, was convicted on corruption charges in 2022.
“It has been slower than I would have liked, definitely, but it's not getting worse,” she said. “We're working at that and we're making very significant progress.”
Alvarez was appointed to replace Mercado in April 2022. She ran for election unopposed later that year.
Hawk acknowledged that Alvarez had taken over under challenging circumstances but said that didn’t negate the problems the county has experienced when it comes to securing funding.
The Board removed Alvarez’s job description from the county’s human resources and risk management filings. They also changed the assistant auditor-controller’s job description to supervising the office’s employees and functions.
Supervisors also voted Tuesday to begin a search for a new county executive officer.
