County Up Front With ‘Its Very Best’ : 9 Court ‘Super’ Clerks Appointed to Aid Public

Placing the finishing touch on a yearlong overhaul of his office, County Clerk Gary Granville on Friday announced the promotion of nine people to the new position of supervising courtroom clerk.

The new “super” clerks will supervise the operations of broad areas of courtroom operations, such as criminal and civil matters.

Granville also announced a new training program for clerks involving three months of classroom and on-the-job instruction. Previously, new employees were assigned immediately to work stations in the courthouse in Santa Ana, often at the front counter.

Granville’s predecessor, Lee A. Branch, was the subject of a sharply critical management audit last year which found weak supervision and rudeness to the public to be chronic problems in the office.

The pay and status of clerks at the public counter have been upgraded in an attempt to put “our very best” employees in direct contact with the public, Granville said.

The “super” clerks named Friday are Marian Cooper, Natalie Drummond, Theresa Hinson, Charlotte Hooker, Patti A. Livingston, Arlene Polichetti, Sharon R. Rudich, Amy Silva and Rosamond Weisman. Each will receive a 5% raise over current top monthly salaries for courtroom clerks of $2,484 per month.

The promotions came one week before the clerk’s Public Service Week, five days of activities in the courthouse including poster contests and hospitality tables for the public.

Granville was named clerk over a department of 210 employees on Oct. 1, 1985, assuming Branch’s duties. Branch remained county recorder after a decision by supervisors to split the clerk’s duties from the recorder’s office, which had been combined since 1978.