Serving as the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors for nearly 10 years, Laura Welch retires tomorrow, Aug. 2, after more than 31 years of service to the county and its residents. Lynna Monell, a 23-year county employee who served as Chief Deputy Clerk of the Board from 2010 until Ms. Welch’s retirement, has been appointed by the Board of Supervisors to succeed Ms. Welch as Clerk of the Board.
With 13 staff positions and an annual budget of $2.2. million, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors prepares and maintains records of actions taken by the Board of Supervisors, oversees membership of the county’s boards, commissions and committees, licenses businesses operating in the county unincorporated areas, and facilitates the filing and hearing of appeals of assessed property valuations.
Ms. Welch was honored by the Board of Supervisors during its July 23 meeting. She received the County Public Service Recognition Award for Excellence in 1994 and 2007, and served as president of the California Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Association in 2014. Ms. Welch was instrumental in the implementation of multiple computer systems within the clerk’s office, including SIRE, the prior agenda management system; Granicus, the county’s meeting streaming system; and most recently Legistar, the new electronic agenda management system, which streamlined the board agenda item submission and approval process. Prior to her service with the county, Ms. Welch served in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of sergeant.
Ms. Monell holds a master’s degree in public administartion, organizational leadership from National University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Cal State San Bernardino. She is a member of the California Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Association and the California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials. She has been with the Clerk of the Board’s office since 2006.