Councillors and senior officers are split over plans to hold elections once every four years instead of every two to save almost £50,000.

Adur District Council is considering electing its entire chamber in one go instead of one half every two years in a bid to cut costs.

Since the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 came into force councils have been allowed to drop their current systems and hold elections once every four years.

If Adur agrees to change to the new cycle by the end of the year it would hold its first full council elections in 2011.

But councillors and senior officers are split on whether the council should switch systems.

Council leader Neil Parkin feels the change could be detrimental to the smooth running of the council, with experienced councillors being lost.

He also said potential candidates running for council could be deterred from standing again.

Senior officers - including Jeremy Cook, the council's executive head of legal and democratic services, and Ian Lowrie, Adur’s chief executive, want to move to elections every four years citing cost savings and the potential to boost voter turnout.

The total cost of holding elections over four years has been estimated at £279,285.

If the council were to move to one every four years it could save as much as £49,000 - although there could be extra costs of a larger count and extra training for more newly elected councillors.

Members of Adur’s overview and scrutiny committee have recommended the current election cycle should be retained.

The committee’s report, which will be considered at a full council meeting tomorrow, said: “Continuity allows long-term projects to proceed without major disruption.

“There is some small evidence that voting increases in full council elections, but the increase shown also is affected by other factors, especially when considered on a ward by ward basis.

“The responses from the public and others consulted externally overwhelmingly wished to retain the current system of elections by halves.”