After a year in the job, the city manager of Encinitas is getting a pay raise and could receive one year’s worth of pay, if the council ever was to terminate her employment.
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Under the terms of her revised contract, City Manager Jennifer Campbell will receive an increase of 2.75%, adding $8,752 to her current base salary so that it will now total $327,022.
When the City Council unanimously voted to approve the changes in March, Councilmember Luke Shaffer said he had been interested in giving her more than what was proposed.
“I think she’s the right person for the job,” Shaffer said, calling Campbell “small, but mighty” and saying she is entering her “blossoming moment” after a year in the job.
Councilmember Marco San Antonio called her “a dream to work with,” while Mayor Bruce Ehlers said the council was “lucky to have (Campbell) in this role.”
“I see so much improvement in the organization here,” the mayor added.
While several council members praised Campbell, audience member Natalie Settoon said she no longer felt that she was doing a good job, though she supported Campbell’s selection a year ago. Settoon, who often attends council meetings, said she now thinks Campbell needs to do better at managing city staff and being fiscally responsible.
Picking Campbell as the new city manager was one of the first tasks the council faced in early 2025 after the council majority changed with the November 2024 elections and then-City Manager Pamela Antil decided to leave the job.
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A former Glendale, Ariz., assistant city manager, Campbell started working for Encinitas in 2016 and was appointed as assistant city manager in 2021.
When the council picked Campbell in March 2025 to replace Antil, she was given a starting salary of $309,000 — close to the $309,758 figure that Antil received just before she stopped working for the city.
Campbell’s contract also called for a pay increase several months later, bringing her annual base salary to $318,270 in July 2025.
In addition to the newly approved $327,000 base salary, which is retroactive to March 5, Campbell now will be receiving a $500 increase to her annual car allowance, giving her $6,500 for vehicle expenses. And, she’ll receive a $7,000 annual payment into her retirement plan.
If the city was to terminate her employment, it would now owe her a year’s worth of her salary, a three-month increase from the prior nine-month, severance arrangement.
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