Councillors who are about to impose higher tax bills for West Sussex householders could be in line for a 70 per cent pay rise.

The increase - more than 35 times the rate of inflation - comes as West Sussex county councillors prepare for a meeting which will push up tax bills by ten per cent from April.

The new budget for allowances and expenses for the council's 71 members would break through the £1 million barrier for the first time.

A five-strong independent panel is carrying out a review of the allowances which, together with travelling expenses, currently cost council tax payers £614,000 a year.

A council spokesman said the £1,045,000 included in the budget was a "guesstimate" of what it could cost to implement the panel's recommendations.

The figure was also said to be at the lower end of the scale of awards which other local authorities are introducing.

Councillors do not receive a salary but each gets a basic £5,150 allowance.

Some are also paid special responsibility allowances, ranging from £10,300 for council leader Harold Hall down to £667 for members who act as policy advisers to members of the seven-strong ruling Cabinet.

Today the county council was bracing itself for criticism, even though the independent panel has not yet published its recommendations.

Councillor Tex Pemberton, a Cabinet member, said council work was becoming more like a full-time job because of its demands on members.

He added: "We do need a system that will attract more young people to get involved in council work.

"I believe that in Surrey the basic allowance for a councillor is £10,000, twice our allowance."

Worthing councillor Nick Rodgers, who leads the Liberal Democrat group, said he expected the public to be angry.

But he said the allowance system had to be pitched at a level that would attract younger people and women to stand for election without losing out financially.

Coun Rodgers, who at 41 is the second-youngest member of the council, added: "The public will always hate members' allowances and they expect us to do the job for nothing and wear sackcloth at the same time.

"But unless allowances go up, all you will get is local government run by elderly, retired men sitting in Chichester and that is not beneficial for the people of West Sussex.

"I spend about 40 hours a week on council work. I am often in Chichester four days a week and also hold down a part-time job."

The county council meets on February 15 to approve a budget which will mean a 9.7 per cent tax rise, leaving the average Band D property owner paying an extra £64 a year.