MEMBERS of Caerphilly council have voted to approve the allocation of a further £150,000 for legal costs and salaries in the long-running council officers pay scandal.

A new report went before council tonight - and was approved - which will see the total amount shelled out by the authority rise to close to £2 million by March 2017.

Caerphilly County Borough Council (CCBC) chief executive Anthony O’Sullivan, along with his deputy Nigel Barnett, and the head of legal services, Daniel Perkins, have been suspended since 2013, after they gave themselves pay rises of up to 20 per cent.

It is the second time the council have approved proposals to set aside further funds to the investigation this year, with interim chief executive Chris Burns giving no assurance when asked by councillor Nigel Dix if this would be the last time.

Mr Burns said: “I have no idea, that depends how long the process takes to be dealt with. No one can predict [that].”

Officers stated that they should know ‘around February to March’ whether further taxpayer funds 'will need to be disclosed' for the investigation.

They also confirmed that any of finance granted not needed would be be ‘reimbursed’ into the council’s general fund reserve.

In July this year, Caerphilly council approved proposals to set aside £502,000 — including £220,000 in legal costs and £282,000 towards the three officers’ potential salary costs between September 1,2015, and March 31, 2017.

Cllr Colin Mann said today: “This is becoming an even bigger gravy train."

When officers were asked to clarify the total amount the legal proceedings had cost the council, it was stated that whilst ‘that can be provided’, they would have needed to been ‘made aware’ of such a request in advance of the meeting.

A damning Wales Audit Office report over the pay scandal previously criticised the local authority for “failures” and “inadequacies” at the time the scandal broke in 2013, and deemed the increases “unlawful” in the way they were set.

Mr O’Sullivan’s salary was increased by £32,000, but this was later reduced to £5,000 after staff and union opposition.

All three were arrested and charged with misconduct in public office, but the charges were dropped last year due to a lack of evidence.

Before the proposals in July earlier this year, figures on the investigation’s estimated costs were already well above £1million.