AS five senior officers of Kennet District Council were being handed their redundancy notices, chief executive Mark Boden was getting an impressive 20 per cent pay rise, it has emerged.

Mr Boden's increase in salary understood to be from £75,000 to around £90,000 was approved by the council's human resources committee meeting in confidential session on March 27.

It was confirmed at the council's full meeting on April 22, incredibly without the councillors knowing any figures and the extent of the increase involved.

The extent of the increase has since come as a shock to rank and file councillors. Only members of the human resources committee were given the figures.

But the figures were leaked and now Coun Tony Still, the independent councillor for Collingbourne, is to ask the council's standards committee to investigate the breach of confidentiality.

But he admits he is angry about the size of Mr Boden's salary rise. He said: "It is a disgraceful increase in salary when people are being made redundant to save the burden on the council tax payer."

Five senior officers, including technical services manager David Shearer, community safety manager Kevin James, and personnel services manager David Butterfield, have been made redundant. In addition, vacant posts were not filled, putting more pressure on existing council staff.

Coun Bill Cavill, the Liberal Democrat member for Marlborough East, said: "I didn't know the amount and I am staggered by it. It doesn't seem equitable at all.

"They ought to have applied the same criteria as they did for the rest of the staff, who have had much smaller increases this year."

However, Chris Humphries, the leader of the ruling Conservative group on the council, defended the rise. He said: "I instigated it because the man has been in office for three and a half years without a pay review.

"If you pay peanuts you get monkeys and we need to keep our chief executive, who has shown a great deal of skill during a very difficult period for the council.

"Salaries are very personal things and everyone is entitled to confidentiality."

A statement issued by Mr Boden's office said councillors were anxious to retain the services of the chief executive and were conscious that many councils are currently recruiting chief officers.

It added: "The councillors were conscious of the going rate for chief executives in the local government labour market and were concerned that the reward package for the chief executive was out of line."

Some recent advertisements for district council chief executive posts quoted salaries of £87,000 at South Kesteven in Lincolnshire, £90,000 for North Norfolk, and £120,000 in Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire.

More locally Swindon Borough Council has offered a salary of £125,000 for the right candidate for their top officer post.

Basingstoke and Deane District Council and Hertfordshire County Council have failed to fill chief executive posts despite offering tempting salaries.

But this argument is not likely to go down well with Kennet council tax payers whose bills have just risen 14.5 per cent.

This year the council made £1.2 million budget cuts.