DUDLEY councillors have copped a six per cent pay rise which takes their basic allowance up to £12,143.

The authority revealed the rise when it announced the adoption of recommendations from an independent remuneration panel.

The changes came into effect on April 1 along with increases to additional payments for members with special responsibilities.

The council leader collects a rise of £1,664 on his extra payment which goes up to £28,516 while the deputy leader will receive an additional 22,552 on top of the member’s allowance.

The leader of the opposition will receive a special allowance of £12,769 while the opposition’s deputy leader gets paid £10,087.

Being a committee chairperson is also rewarded with payments on top of the member’s allowance ranging from £12,635 to £10,812 while a seat around the cabinet table is worth £16,235.

In the last financial year Dudley councillors collected a total of more than £1.2million in allowances and an overall six percent increase would add an extra £72,768 to the bill.

However, the total annual pay for the council leader, around £40,000, is small change compared to the chief executive who trousers a whopping £184,557.