A COUNCIL chief’s £44,000 pay rise was the "going rate for the job”, a leading councillor said today.

David Shakespeare, leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, said chief executive Chris Williams’s £198,865 pay packet was to "catch up" with other bosses.

The figure was revealed in a report by public spending pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which branded big payouts “morally indefensible” (see link, below).

Mr Williams and four other directors got a pay increase of 28.5 per cent between 2006/07 and 2007/08.

Taken with bosses at two other councils this means taxpayers spent almost £1.5m on 11 chiefs.

His salary is more than the £194,250 given to Prime Minister Gordon Brown – and all the directors earn more than members of the cabinet.

Councillor Shakespeare said: “Two years ago the council moved to a process whereby an annual survey is taken of the salaries of the other county council chief executives in the south east.

“The salary of Buckinghamshire’s chief executive is then adjusted to be exactly at the average.

“The level of the “catch up” that year shows how far the Bucks salary had fallen behind the average market rate in the South East.”

He added: “Competition for the most talented senior managers is intense in the South East and BCC needs to pay the going rate for the job.”

Public spending watchdog the Audit Commission had recently boosted BCC’s rating to the top four stars say.

This “illustrates that we are providing our residents with a high quality service”.

Councillor Shakespeare said: “It is therefore critical the council is led by the very best people.

“In Chris Williams and his team of senior managers that is exactly what we have.”

Wycombe District Council chief executive Karen Satterford got an extra £12,000 to take her pay to £141,000, the group said.

An unnamed boss at South Bucks District Council got £105,000.

The “staggering” news comes as BCC and WDC warn they are strapped for cash because of low Government support and a drop in income from the recession.

Both have pledged to axe jobs while the district council controversially agreed to close Holywell Mead outdoor swimming pool in High Wycombe to save £66,000 a year.

It has also axed toilets to save cash – but abandoned plans to freeze pay for lower-level staff after cuts found the cash for a 2.5 per cent increase.