A COUNCIL chief executive is to get a 34.5 per cent pay rise as planned - despite claims that the hike is "obscene" and was awarded undemocratically.

Furious East Riding of Yorkshire Councillors yesterday attacked Darryl Stephenson's soaring salary which will rise from £104,000 to £140,000, and also big increases for other council directors.

And they criticised the way the rises were awarded by a committee with delegated powers, so that the decision did not have to be ratified by the full council meeting.

One member, Labour councillor Nev Holgate, branded the rises "obscene" and "completely unacceptable" at a time when other employees were to get pay rises in line with inflation, council tax was to rise by 5.8 per cent and services were being cut.

And Stamford Bridge councillor Hilary Saynor said the increases had caused a lot of anger from a lot of people in her area.

"The strength of feeling, particularly amongst the elderly, is considerable."

She said the authority was making cuts to the youth service, voluntary sector and individual schools budget. "We are criticised by the public for our response to financial queries by them, regarding benefits, council tax etc, and yet we are making savings there."

There was also concern that the social services budget could be cut.

"If it is possible to save money on management costs, then that money should have been used to provide services to the public, not to provide vast increases in some salaries."

She also felt the rises had not been decided in a democratic and open manner.

Another councillor, Coleen Gill, said one resident had told her that her husband had two degrees and worked all the hours God sent, but did not earn half of £34,000. "I had to say that this was just the rise, not the pay. She hit the wall and had to go and have a sit down!" Others claimed that a health trust chief executive earned less than a local authority chief exec.

But others said that the council had to respond to market forces and pay the right rate, or risk losing its best officers. They claimed that the authority was well-served by its directors.

Councillor David Nolan said that in the private sector, the chief executive could earn half a million pounds for doing the same sort of job, and market forces had to be taken account of. "It's about paying the rate for the job." However, he agreed the timing for the rise was appalling.

He claimed that leaders of all the main political parties had agreed to the rises, and that it was hypocritical for Labour to criticise it now.

Updated: 08:51 Thursday, February 28, 2002