CALLS have been made to stop the “financial gravy train” of council chief executives after figures obtained by The Argus show local authority bosses’ pay has risen by up to 19 per cent over the past decade.

A dozen chief executives at Sussex councils cost taxpayers more than £1.8 million in the last financial year.

At least seven bosses will see their “casino-sized” salaries rise in 2017/18 despite overseeing cuts in the millions to council services.

More authorities are being encouraged to follow in the footsteps of money-saving councils sharing their chief executives or for bosses to “share the pain” and take a pay cut.

Councils said chief executive pay was rising in line with other staff salaries and reflected their difficult job and increased responsibilities.

East Sussex chief executive Becky Shaw is the best paid in the county, racking up just under £230,000 in 2016/17 in salary, pension contributions and expenses.

Union Unite said it was “quite wrong” her salary was 20 per cent more than the Prime Minister’s.

Some chief executive spending has been slashed since the banking crisis and Westminster-imposed austerity – expenses have dropped from more than £4,500 in 2006/7 to £1,600 in 2016/17.

But newly introduced performance-related pay bonuses have meant Wealden’s Charles Lant and Arun’s Nigel Lynn received an additional £3,000.

Unite regional officer Malcolm Bonnett said: “The Argus has done an excellent job in exposing this financial gravy train for council bosses across Sussex, which must make the public put their collective head in their hands in despair.

“Something is quite wrong when Becky Shaw receives just under £230,000 in salary, pension contributions and expenses, when Prime Minister Theresa May’s pay packet is about £150,000 for running the whole country.”

TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive John O’Connell said: “These eye-watering pay packages will certainly raise eyebrows. At a time when councils are pleading poverty, raising taxes or slashing services in the name of making savings, authorities will have a tough time justifying these salaries.”

A West Sussex County Council spokeswoman said the job of the chief executive had never been more challenging.

She added: “It is therefore crucial we have the very best person for the job and that means paying a competitive salary.”

An East Sussex spokeswoman said: “All staff receive the same annual pay increase regardless of their grade. It’s important our pay rates are appropriate to the scale and scope of the role, reflecting the skills, experience and knowledge required to carry out the role effectively.”

SOME MAKE CHANGES BUT OTHERS STICK TO THEIR GUNS

THE past decade has been a difficult one for almost anyone working in local government.

Councils lost 37 per cent of funding between 2010 and 2015 with a further 56 per cent to go by 2019/20. Hundreds of jobs have been shed in the process in Sussex alone.

The severity of the cuts has led councils to take drastic action with four authorities now sharing a chief executive with a neighbouring council.

Adur and Worthing were the first to make the move in 2008 followed last year by Eastbourne and Lewes.

Other councils are being urged to follow in their footsteps with a recent Local Government Association report stating shared management left pioneering councils “more flexible and resilient” and “transforming further and faster than others”.

Others have asked their top boss to do their bit by taking home less in their pay packet. Hastings Borough Council, which lost almost a third of its staff between 2010 and 2016, axed its chief executive in 2011 with its most senior member of staff now paid £14,000 a year less.

Brighton and Hove City Council reviewed chief executive pay when the post became vacant in 2012 and reduced the salary by £20,000 “to reflect changes in market rates ”.

But not all councils are cutting chief executive pay.

Arun District Council’s £6,000 pay rise for chief executive Nigel Lynn was agreed in January in the face of political and union opposition.

Mr Lynn received a three per cent performance-related bonus and a one-off £3,000 payment to bring his salary in line with other chief executives. He now earns more than bosses at Adur and Worthing, Chichester, Crawley, Hastings, Horsham and Rother.

A council spokesman said “detailed studies and comparisons” with other councils with similar populations, locations and responsibilities had been made ahead of the move. A spokesman said it was reducing its corporate management team from five to three meaning Mr Lynn was taking on additional responsibilities.

The council said it considered sharing a chief executive after its previous boss left but decided to retain the role because of the district’s size and demographic.

Wealden chief executive Charles Lant received a bonus of more than £3,600 in 2016/17 after the authority introduced performance-related pay for all staff last year.

A spokesman said the incentive was designed to encourage staff to respond to the “many new challenges” faced by the public sector.

He added: “The chief executive has had the same pay rise as the rest of council staff over the past five years and this year will receive a performance-related bonus.”

At Mid Sussex District Council, chief executive Kathryn Hall is paid £8,000 more than her predecessor received in 2006/7.

The authority said a management team restructure during the summer in which two heads of service placed additional responsibilities to her role.

A spokesman said: “Under our current chief executive we have managed to generate millions of pounds of savings during times of austerity without making cuts to frontline services.”

Chichester District Council said chief executive pay had not increased 18 per cent in a decade as its own supplied figures suggested because a previous car allowance given on top of salary was changed in 2014 to be included in it.

The authority said when Diane Shepherd took up the post in 2012 she took a £5,000 cut to the previous salary to the post and her pay was frozen until last year, when she received a one per cent increase.

A spokeswoman said it had significantly reduced its senior management team.

Rother District Council did away with the chief executive role in 2013 when long-serving boss Derek Steven stood down, with two directors taking over the duties.

A spokesman said it needed to pay “a competitive salary”.