Senior Essex County Council staff are being paid more than £100,000, new figures revealed.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance released their 2019 Town Hall Rich List highlighting the highest earnings when taking into account annual salary, expenses, compensation and pension.

Currently, Essex County Council has the greatest number of employees receiving remuneration in excess of £100,000, 55 in total.

From Epping Forest District Council, the chief executive, director of resource, director of communities, director of neighbourhoods and director of resource all earned between £89,000 and £114,000.

Chief Executive Bala Mahendran from the Basildon Borough Council received the highest bonus of £51,315.

Essex council also had the highest number of employees earning over £150,000, listing 13 members.

During the 2017-2018 financial year, at least 2,454 UK council employees who received total remuneration in excess of £100,000, a 148 more than in 2016-17.

A total of 28 local authority employees received remuneration in excess of a quarter of a million pounds in 2017-18.

In the current financial year, taxpayers England will receive an average council tax rise of 4.7 per cent.

This means taxpayers can expect to pay an extra £78 per year on a Band D property.

An Essex County Council spokesperson said: “In 2017-18 financial year, Essex County Council paid 55 employees over £100,000.

“However, 17 of these employees were leaving the organisation due to a council-wide restructure, and thus their annual remuneration includes the severance packages they were entitled to.

“Essex County Council is one of the largest local authorities in England, serving one of the largest populations and if we are to attract the best people in the country to help us deliver the best outcomes for our residents, we need to offer an appropriate level of salary that is competitive with the commercial sector.

“All our salaries are subject to regular independent review and measured against the public and not for profit sector.”

A statement published on the Tax Payer’s Alliance website said: “Many senior managers at local authorities have performed well in tough financial times.

“There are many reports of residents seeing no difference in the services they receive despite the necessary savings being made.

“However, the Town Hall Rich List also showcases the executives who have overseen failing departments or received bumper pay-offs after poor performance in the job.

“The research is a vital tool for taxpayers wanting to judge which authorities are delivering the best value for money.”