A SPECIAL investigation by the Echo has revealed that Basildon Council’s chief executive earns almost as much as Gordon Brown and more than London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Bala Mahendran’s earnings rose by a whopping 7.4 per cent last year, to £178,131. That put him just £16,000 behind the Prime Minister and almost £40,000 ahead of Boris.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance, which obtained figures from councils across the country, described the pay as “staggering”.

Maria Fort, policy analyst for the alliance, said chief executives’ incomes should not be compared to earnings of private sector workers.

She said: “Working in the public sector is different to the private sector, especially in the current economic climate, because of job security, pension schemes and increases in salary.”

But Tony Ball, deputy leader at Basildon Council, said the pay was performance related and targets were set between Mr Mahendran and council leader Malcolm Buckley.

He said: “Looking around at other authorities I believe Mr Mahendran does offer good value for money.

“There’s no doubt public sector pay has increased over the last few years and it’s something all councillors must be mindful of. But at the end of the day we want the best people to deliver the most effective services for the taxpayers of Basildon.”

In Southend the top council official has had his salary cut – one of only a handful of council chiefs across the country to have done so.

Chief executive Rob Tinlin’s pay dropped from £153,000 in 2007 to £149,600 in 2008 – a decrease of just under one per cent.

The council’s head of finance and resources, Martin Hone, said all the council’s top 20 officers have had their basic salary frozen for the past two years.

Mr Tinlin was unavailable for comment, but the figures showed he was just one of ten chief executives across the UK to see his earnings go down from 2006-7 to 2007-8.

Of the total figure, Mr Tinlin’s salary was £141,383, plus election fees of £7,650, and a mileage claim of £540.

Four other officers at Southend earned more than £100,000 a year in 2007-8, but the council refused to name them or disclose their positions.

Though he was unable to explain the decrease in Mr Tinlin’s pay, Mr Hone said all of the council’s top officers can get a performance-related bonus on top of their basic salary.

He said: “There have been no pay cuts at the council, but for all senior management, including myself, our pay doesn’t go up.

“It was frozen in April 2007 and anything we get in addition is a one-off bonus.”

The chief executive of Rochford District Council saw his pay go up almost four per cent from 2007 to 2008.

Paul Warren was the only officer at the council to earn above £100,000 a year and was the lowest-paid among the chiefs of south Essex’s councils.

In 2007-8, he earned £107,011 compared to £102,966 for 2006-7 – a rise of 3.9 per cent.

Of this, Mr Warren’s gross salary was £106,893 plus a car allowance.

In Castle Point, the top officer earns at least £135,000 a year.

Chief executive David Marchant’s income band rose from £135,000 to £145,000, between April 2007 and March 2008.

Castle Point MP Bob Spink, said he was astounded by the earnings and claimed they were not good value for money.

He said: “Senior council officers, not just chief executives, but directors of services, are paid far too high a salary. Especially given the perks of the job, their pensions, the hours they work and their level of responsibility.

“I’m disturbed to hear that they’re continuing to get high pay rises.”

The vacant post for Thurrock Council’s chief executive is currently being advertised, with a salary of up to £200,000.

Before leaving the post in November, former chief executive Angela Ridgewell was earning £151,837 in the job, for the 2007/2008.

Bob Coomber is the interim boss of the unitary authority and the council is advertising for replacement to the post, offering a salary of up to £200,000.