KENNET District Council chief executive Mark Boden has just been awarded a whacking great pay rise.

His salary hike comes at a time when council tax bills in the district have gone up by more than 14 per cent and other officers are being made redundant.

Not surprisingly Mr Boden was not keen on his new salary being made public.

Strangely, even the council members who voted through the increase believed to be from about £75,000 to more than £90,000 were not told the sums involved.

And this week Mr Boden was reluctant to speak to the Gazette about his rise and even tried to persuade us not to publish the figure.

We understand that chief executives up and down the country attract large salaries and if Kennet is to have the best person for the job then it obviously has to offer a competitive salary.

But why should Mr Boden go to such lengths to keep everything a secret?

Either he cannot think he is worth what he is being paid or he is embarrassed that the council tax payers will not think him worth it.

It is not for us to judge Mr Boden's value to the council but surely those elected to serve should be in the know.

Salaries for public figures, whether they are the Prime Minister or the chief executive of Kennet District Council, should not be a secret.