CEREDIGION County Council’s chief executive will see a 40 per cent pay bump for his secondary role of returning officer for council elections if draft budget plans are approved.

Eifion Evans, who earns more than £137,000 a year for his role as head of the county council, is also the county’s returning officer for community, town and county council elections and by-elections.

Mr Evans is paid per contest as the returning officer, and draft budget plans have mooted a rise in pay for each contested seat from £250 to £350 – a 40 per cent increase.

In 2021, that number was £174 per seat, meaning the pay for the role will have doubled in just three two years.

In uncontested seats, Mr Evans in his returning officer role will be paid £100 from April if plans are approved, up from £80 last year.

Mr Evans also serves as the regional returning officer for Mid and West Wales for Senedd elections.

His income for that role is set separately by the Welsh Government.

Mr Evans, who had a 14 per cent pay rise for his role as Chief Executive in 2021 which saw his salary rise from between £106,000 and £117,000 to somewhere in the middle of £121,000 to £130,000, was handed a further pay rise in 2022 which saw his salary increase to £137,000 a year.

Fees paid to deputy returning officers, clerical assistance, and polling station supervisors will also rise.

Details of the pay rise are included in a council tax report, which if approved, will see tax-payers in Ceredigion paying almost 14 per cent more for council services, an extra £216 a year for the average property.