COUNCIL fat cats continue to enjoy juicy pay packets in Essex while residents are forced to tighten their belts, according to the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

The number of executive officers at councils around the county with total remuneration packages of more than £100,000 is rising.

Several are earning more than £200,000.

In 2014/15 Colchester Council had four earning six figures which remained the same last year.

Essex County Council, which already had the highest number of high earners in the east, added an extra one in 2015/16 taking them to 36.

A spokesman complained the figures, from the Taxpayers’ Alliance, were out of date but did not provide an alternative.

At the same time, the council refused to pay low earners the living wage, claiming the council could not afford it.

This only changed when the Government introduced its own version of the living wage and forced councils to pay it.

Tendring Council doubled their high earners, from one to two, while in Braintree and Maldon the numbers were frozen at three and one.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “There are talented people in the public sector who are trying to deliver more for less, but the sheer scale of these packages raise serious questions about efficiency and priorities.”

A spokesman for Colchester Council said: “We publish salary data based on salaries not including pension contributions.

“On this basis, the chief executive is the only employee with a salary in excess of £100,000.

“If pension contributions are included, then the remuneration package for the three executive directors would exceed £100,000.”

A spokesman for Essex County Council said: “We need leadership of the highest calibre if we are going to continue to deliver the best outcome for Essex residents.

“Essex County Council is one of the largest local authorities in England.

“Over the past seven years, we’ve transformed the council so we can continue to improve and deliver the services people need and at the same time keep council tax in check.

“We’ve already delivered savings of £597 million and we are also on track to save a further £106 million by the end of 2017/18 because of our strong track record of financial management.

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

“The figures provided by the TaxPayers’ Alliance are more than a year out of date.”