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).