SOUTH Essex council chiefs have taken big salary increases, despite the sweeping cuts faced by local authorities.

Figures released by the Taxpayers’ Alliance show the chief executives covering Southend, Basildon and Castle Point all received substantial pay rises. Rochford’s chief executive received a more modest increase.

The salary packages include pension contributions and allowances.

Basildon’s chief, Bala Mahendran, had an 8.4 per cent increase to £227,968.

In Southend, Rob Tinlin received £184,209, a 2.9 per cent increase.

Castle Point chief David Marchant received £186,293, an increase of 6.6 per cent.

Essex County Council boss Joanna Killian bucked the trend and took an 8.4 per cent pay cut, from £311,456 in 2008/09 to £285,152 in 2009/10. However, Ms Killian, who also runs Brentwood Council, was still ranked among the top 20 highest earning employees in local authorities across the country.

The county’s chief financial officer had a pay rise of 7.8 per cent from £131,340 to £141,616. Its director of human resource and customer excellence was given the highest increase, from £137,957 to £186,941, which included bonuses, pension contributions and expenses.

Matthew Sinclair, director of the Tax payers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be staggered so many council employees are getting such a generous deal.

“Councils insist cuts can only mean pressure on frontline services, but they clearly have money to spend when it comes to paying their own senior staff.

“It is crucial some of these senior council executives set an example and lead spending cuts by taking a pay cut themselves.

“Households have seen their council tax bills double over the last decade and deserve better value.”

An Essex County Council spokeswoman said the council publishes a full annual report outlining officers’ pay and is currently undergoing a programme cutting back on spending. She added: “The county council has saved £190million over the past four years.

“It is on course to save a further £90million in 2010/11 and a further £90million in 2011/12.

“This year, council tax was frozen so as not to pass the burden on to taxpayers, during one of the harshest local government settlements ever.

“We are committed to delivering high quality services that are value for money. This report from the TaxPayers’ Alliance is just an attempt at annual publicity for them.

“It does not address the real issues facing local government.”