A PART-TIME council boss received a £23,000 bonus to top up his salary to make him the highest paid chief executive in south Essex.

Bala Mahendran, chief executive of Basildon Council took home £23,638 in performance-related pay last year, despite him working just three days a week.

His total remuneration package of £155,111 for 2014/15 dwarfed that of Southend Council’s chief executive Rob Tinlin, who took home £124,855 – a drop from his earnings of £172,779 in 2013/14, after he decided to work four days a week.

Basildon Council claims Mr Mahendran’s salary is justified, given the role he has played in boosting Basildon and the number of regeneration schemes set to transform the borough.

However, Dave Murray, organiser of the Basildon Against the Cuts campaign group, said: “It’s a culture of entitlement that says it does not matter that the poor, through the council and the Government, are being hammered.

“It is excessive and does not set a good example.

“Given the type of sitcom-style political chaos at Basildon Council, you may think trying to manage that justifies his large salary.”

Despite the high figure, Mr Mahendran’s total remuneration has gone down, as in 2013/14 he was paid £190,886.

In August 2013, he went parttime as part of a cost-cutting measure.

Mr Mahendran declined to be interviewed, but a spokesman for Basildon Council said: “The council is setting out its plans for the coming years very carefully and is satisfied that it has the right chief executive in place to ultimately do the right job for local people and the local area.”

Rochford and Castle Point councils do not pay their chief executives bonuses, and while Southend Council’s bosses have perks written into their contracts, they have refused to take them since 2010.

Mr Mahendran’s bonus was written into his contract as part of the authority’s pay policy, which was voted through by all councillors, expect Labour, as part of the budget in February.

Gavin Callaghan, the leader of the Labour group, said the remuneration package was “beyond extortionate” and called on senior officials to follow Southend’s lead in turning down bonuses.

He also pointed to the fact regeneration schemes in Pitsea, Laindon and Basildon had stalled.

He said: “When the public in Pitsea are seeing gross uncertainty over the future of the Morrisons development and the Laindon Centre remains derelict, it is extremely difficult to understand how Bala can warrant thousands in performance related pay.

“I dread to think what the figure would be if he and the council was actually performing well.”