Ceredigion councillors have waved through a more than six per cent pay rise for members from next month in the same week that council tax bills containing an 11 per cent rise dropped on residents’ doorsteps.

The basic pay of a county councillor will rise by more than £1,000 a year from £17,600 to the new figure of £18,666 following recommendations from the Independent Remuneration Panel of Wales (IRPW).

The IPRW sets councillor pay each year, and the Panel suggest the 6.04 per cent pay lift from April - which comes on the back of a 4.76 per cent rise last year and a 17 per cent hike in salary for all councillors the year before - is a bid to bring councillor pay in line with average earnings in order to attract a wider range of candidates to fill the roles.

In Ceredigion, the council’s leader is line for a £3,398 a year pay rise, bringing the pay for the role up to £59,498 from £56,100 last year.

The council’s leader role saw a £2,550 pay rise last year.

The deputy leader pay will rise by almost £2,000 a year to £41,649, while the salary for cabinet members will also increase by a shade of over £2,000 a year to £35,699.

Committee chairs will receive a boost to £27,999, while the pay for the leader of the opposition on the council will also rise to the same amount.

Ceredigion County Council leader Cllr Brian Davies told a Full Council meeting on 21 March to “please don’t shoot the messenger, the decision is not in our hands” adding “we are going to receive bad press for this.”

Cllr Gareth Lloyd said: “I can see where people are coming from that we are raising council tax and raising councillor allowances, but not all of councillor’s work is seen.”

Cllr Elizabeth Evans said: “I know this is not our decision but we should never ever feel guilty for taking a salary either because all of us work very, very hard.”

IRPW chairwoman Frances Duffy said: “Our goal continues to be to ensure that levels of remuneration are fair and reasonable.

“In reaching our decision to continue the link between elected members remuneration and the average earnings of their constituents, the Panel remain of the view that a fair and reasonable remuneration package will continue to support elected members and not act as a barrier to participation.”