THEY cost Hampshire taxpayers almost £2m a year and two of them took home more than £50,000 in allowances and expenses.

Now the public have the chance to have their say on how much the county's councillors should get paid.

An independent remuneration panel is carrying out the first full review of Hampshire County Council's allowance scheme in eight years.

Peter Humphreys, the former chief executive of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, will chair it with two others.

It will compare Hampshire, the third largest shire council in the country, to similar authorities, as well as the private sector. The panel will also look at hours of work, levels of responsibilities, and whether the age, gender and ethnicity of councillors compared to the rest of the population in Hampshire shows whether pay is a barrier.

Mr Humphreys, who declines to take his annual £211 allowance for the job, said: "We are not councillors, we are independent and we don't have any political or executive ties with the council."

He said he was keen to receive comments from the public, adding: "We will listen to them very seriously."

Councillors are likely to consider the panel recommendations in November but can ignore them.

They can currently claim a basic of £11,565 with extras for special responsibilities, rising to £27,913 for the leader, Ken Thornber.

Councillors Mel Kendal and Keith House, who are county councillors as well as leaders of New Forest and Eastleigh councils, claimed more than £50,000 each in 2006/7.

They all said that they give good value and work hard for their money.

However Christine Melsom, from IsItFair?, a council tax reform pressure group, said: "They certainly shouldn't get any more. Allowances are already very high and most of them have got other jobs.

"It's a supplement to their income and they get pension rights to go with it."

The review comes as the union Unison is considering balloting on summer strikes over a 2.45 per cent pay offer. It wants six per cent. In February councillors agreed to link this year's increase to the pay award for staff.

Rolli Rowlands, deputy branch secretary for Hampshire, said he was disappointed that there were no women on the pay panel but said that higher pay might be needed to attract better and younger councillors.

He warned: "The pay bill will always come back on the taxpayer. They need to find a balance."

● A public hearing on the pay review will be held on June 26. Taxpayers wishing to give evidence or comment should write to: The Chair, The Independent Remuneration Panel, c/o The Members Office, The Chief Executive's Department, Hampshire County Council, The Castle, Winchester, SO23 8UJ by June 5, or e-mail irp@hants.gov.uk.