A South Orange County city plans to increase its city manager’s base salary by five percent, and provide her with an annual tuition allowance to fund her PhD. Jennifer Cervantez’s salary will grow from $243,052 to $255,205, after city council approved the salary boost during an April 28 vote. She will also receive an education allowance for up to $18,000 per year, for a total of three years, at a maximum cost of $54,000. The money will fund Cervantez’s PhD. In exchange, she agreed to extend her contract with the city for five additional years. “As city managers go, and I’ve worked with seven or eight, she’s clearly the best one we’ve had,” Councilmember Jerry Holloway said during the meeting. “It’s not just a lot of education without application. She handles all the business that we have, but she’s gaining more experience by expanding out and dealing with a lot …