Cheshire East could pay its new top boss up to £190,000 a year – that's £30,500 more than the council currently pays for the role.

As previously reported, current chief executive Dr Lorraine O'Donnell is leaving the authority in October to move to the top job at Bradford Council on a salary of £205,000.

Cheshire East has already begun the lengthy process of recruiting her replacement, and a paper to last week's meeting of the council's appointments committee suggested the current remuneration package of £159,405 might have to be increased.

It stated: "A review of current pay levels will ensure a suitable and competitive process… The final recommended salary of the successful candidate will relate to the required skills and experience and to the labour market."

Now a paper to next month's meeting of the committee asks councillors to approve and recommend to full council a pay band for the role of chief executive of £160,000 to £190,000.

By law the council must have a chief exec and the report states: "The recruitment to the post of chief executive is key to the council fulfilling all of its corporate plan commitments, and the leadership provided by this post will be central to ensuring that staff are able to deliver on members' priorities and meet the council's financial commitments set out in the medium term financial plan."

But it's not just the new chief exec's salary which will put a strain on the council's coffers – the actual process of recruiting and appointing a new top boss is costly too.

The council first pays a company to select an executive search agency.

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That search agency, which will also be paid for by the council, then works with Cheshire East in the recruitment and selection process for the new chief executive.

At this stage the cost of this entire recruitment exercise is not known as it is still ongoing.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted the council to ask for the total cost as soon as the figure becomes available.

Cllr Carol Bulman (Middlewich, Lab), who is on the appointments committee, told the LDRS this week the process was costly but it was essential it was carried out properly.

She added: "We have got to have a chief executive and it's important we appoint the right person."