Encinitas City Council hires new law firm, welcomes interim city attorney

Ajit Thind, the new interim city attorney in Encinitas, has made his first public City Council appearance.

“It’s a great honor to be your city attorney,” Thind said at the start of his first regular Encinitas council meeting Wednesday.

Right now, his title is “interim” city attorney, but “I hope to take that off at some point,” Thind said, adding, “I look forward to working with the council and instituting its vision into policy and practice, and look forward to keeping Encinitas, Encinitas … .”

He replaces Tarquin Preziosi, who served from 2022 until this fall. In October, the council voted to terminate its contract with Preziosi’s firm, saying they had decided to go in a new direction, particularly reguarding high-density housing issues, but stressed that the termination was “without cause.”

“We need to be ready and proactive in housing,” Mayor Bruce Ehlers said at the time.

The council unanimously approved its agreement Wednesday with the firm that Thind works for — Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley. It calls for Thind to serve as Encinitas interim city attorney and fellow lawyer Andrew Jared to be interim assistant city attorney, serving as backup for Thind at council meetings and being the attorney present at city Planning Commission meetings.

Each month, the firm will receive an hourly payment of $265 for up to 105 hours of work, or a monthly total of $27,825. If the city requires more than 105 hours of attorney services in...