THE wage and expenses bill for Scottish Borders Council’s 34 elected members rose by nearly £21,000 in the 12 months to March 31.
A total of £778,149 was paid out to councillors, compared to £757,172 in 2014/15.
A 1 per cent salary hike on April 1, 2015, saw total remuneration costs increase by nearly £9,000 – from £659,844 to £668,780.
Backbench councillors who do not hold positions of special responsibility thus received an annual salary of £16,726 – up from £16,560.
Claims for travel expenses also rose from £54,835 to £56,452, while claims for telephone and IT expenses went up markedly over the year - from £37,067 to £49,639.
The cost of sending councillors to conferences and training courses topped £2,617, compared to £5,133 the previous year.
What each councillor received in 2015/16
Totals, including salary and expenses, received by each councillor, along with their special responsibilities where applicable, are as follows (2014/15 payments in brackets):
Sandy Aitchison (Borders Party, Galashiels & District, education) £27,046 (£27,120).
Willie Archibald (SNP, Tweeddale West, convener of licensing board) £23,892 (£23.247).
Michelle Ballantyne (Con, Selkirkshire, leader of opposition) £22,962 (£22.881).
Stuart Bell (SNP, Tweeddale East, economic development) £28,146 (£25,382).
Catriona Bhatia (Lib Dem, Tweeddale West, depute leader health services) £20,706 (£20,794).
Jim Brown (SNP, Jedburgh & District, community planning/vice-convener) £25,916 (£25,610).
Joan Campbell (SNP, East Berwickshire) £21,336 (£20,105).
Keith Cockburn (Con, Tweeddale West) £19,917 (£18,904).
Michael Cook (Ind, East Berwickshire, HR & corporate improvement) £27,067 (£26,584).
Alastair Cranston (SNP, Hawick & Denholm) £19,164 (£18,340).
Vicky Davidson (Lib Dem, Selkirkshire, culture, sport, youth & communities) £28,396 (£24,913).
Gordon Edgar (Ind, Selkirkshire, roads & infrastructure) £26,198 (£24,812).
Jim Fullarton (Con, East Berwickshire) £20,039 (£19,962).
Graham Garvie (Lib Dem, Tweeddale East, council convener) £29,682 (£28,864).
Iain Gillespie (Borders Party, Leaderdale & Melrose) £19,348 (£19,318).
John Greenwell (Con, Mid Berwickshire) £20,013 (£18,902).
Bill Herd (SNP, Galashiels & District) £18,813 (£18,374).
Gavin Logan (Con, Tweeddale East) £19,435 (£18,792).
Stuart Marshall (Ind, Hawick & Denholm) £18,383 (£18,226).
Watson McAteer (Ind, Hawick & Denholm, elected May 2014) £17,087 (£14,966).
John Mitchell (SNP, Galashiels & District, depute leader finance) £29,331 (£29,218).
Donald Moffat (SNP, Mid Berwickshire, community safety) £26,579 (£27,203).
Simon Mountford (Con, Kelso & District) £19,979 (£20,313).
Alec Nicol (Lib Dem, Kelso & District) £18,805 (£18,074).
David Parker (Ind, Leaderdale & Melrose, leader) £35,332 (£36,337).
David Paterson (Ind, Hawick & Hermitage, environmental services) £27,019 (£26,307).
Frances Renton (Lib Dem, Mid Berwickshire, social work and housing) £26,318 (£27,859).
Sandy Scott (Con, Jedburgh & District) £19,124 (£18,618).
Ron Smith (Lib Dem, Hawick & Hermitage, planning & environment) £25,994 (£25,280).
Rory Stewart (Ind, Jedburgh & District) £18,292 (£17,377).
Jim Torrance (SNP, Leaderdale & Melrose) £18,910 (£17,707).
George Turnbull (Con, Hawick & Hermitage) £20,954 (£20,077).
Tom Weatherston (Con, Kelso & District) £19,015 (£18,533).
Bill White (Ind, Galashiels & District) £18,937 (£18,157).
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