Up for consideration during Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting will be a resolution to appoint Monique DeLaGarza as City Clerk, following an executive recruitment search conducted in April and May. The position, along with the City Manager, is one of two positions the council hires directly.

The City Clerk Department conducts municipal, college district and school district elections involving as many as 290,000 registered voters and more than 300 voting precincts, according to the city. The City Clerk also maintains most city documents; attends all city council meetings and maintains a full and accurate record of all council proceedings and votes.

“Monique’s 16-year public service career with the City and her talent for creating solutions utilizing project management tools will make her an outstanding City Clerk,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “We know that Ms. DeLaGarza will continue our City’s tradition of high quality service and well run elections.”

As the current Assistant City Clerk, DeLaGarza is responsible for coordinating the development and management of the City Clerk annual budget of $2.5 to $4.7 million; managing accounting-related department operations, payroll, human resources, employee development, internal communications and city safety programs; creating and maintaining Citywide Records Retention Schedules for 22 City departments; creating a Citywide Policy to assist departments with conversion of digitized records; and administering election cost recovery for consolidated elections.

Previously, she has held the positions of Administrative Officer, Administrative Analyst, Assistant Administrative Analyst and Clerk Typist II for the City of Long Beach.

“I’m honored to be given the opportunity to serve the City of Long Beach,” Monique DeLaGarza said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the Mayor and City Council, City Departments, and the community.”

DeLaGarza received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance Management from Tulane University, is a Certified Municipal Clerk, a member of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks and the City Clerks Association of California, according to the city.

The city has been without a permanent city clerk since November 2016 when then-City Clerk Maria de la Luz Garcia suddenly resigned. Garcia was appointed to that post in August 2015. 

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Before her retirement in October 2015, Poonam Davis served as Assistant City Clerk and Interim City Clerk. She re-entered the workforce from retirement when the council approved her appointment as Interim City Clerk on December 6, 2016. Since December 21, 2016, Davis has been serving as Interim City Clerk and will stay on to assist with the transition of the new City Clerk.

“Poonam’s commitment to our City is evident in her quality of work and her willingness to come back when we needed her,” Garcia said in a statement. “I want to sincerely thank her for her many years of service to our City.”

The appointment will be effective immediately if and when approved by city council.