SANTA ROSA (AP) -- Sonoma County's agricultural commissioner has been placed on leave after recent controversies including a September drunken driving arrest.

County officials said on Monday that Cathy Neville will be paid during her time off. They did not specify how long she will be gone or why she was asked to leave.

Neville was charged with two misdemeanor counts of drunken driving after her Sept. 10 arrest. Her court case has been delayed pending results of an independent blood-alcohol test.

The 53-year-old also faced heavy criticism last year for firing the county's chief animal control officer two days before the woman's probationary status was to expire. The county later stripped Neville's department of authority over animal control.

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