Numerous council bosses who earned more than £100,000 last year have been revealed.

The TaxPayers alliance, a pressure group, has released its annual ‘town hall rich list’ which reveals council employees earning a salary of six figures.

The pay packets include officers' overall remuneration – which includes salaries, expenses, compensation and pension contributions.

In 2017-18, Watford Borough Council managing director Manny Lewis earned £139,199 as well as a pension contribution of 25,334 bringing his total pay packet to £164,533 while deputy managing director Nick Fenwick earned £100,000 as well as a pension contribution of £18,200.

In Three Rivers, chief executive Steven Halls is on a salary of £123,334 alongside a pension of £22,221. Two other council employees earned more than £100,000 – the director of community and environmental services, Geof Muggeridge, who received a pay of £109, 508, and the director of finance, Joanne Wagstaffe, who earned £108,238, but this is in joint employment with Watford.

Hertsmere chief executive Donald Graham is the highest earning borough council boss in Hertfordshire – on a salary of £154,000 as well as a pension contribution of £30,000. Corporate director Sajida Bilje earned £108,000 in 2017-18 alongside a pension of £21,000.

Dacorum chief exec Sally Marshall earned £135,225 with a pension contribution of £24,205 while Mark Gaynor, corporate director for housing and regeneration, and James Deane, corporate director for finance and operations, earned £102,951 and £103,208 respectively alongside pension contributions of £18,546, and £18,250 respectively.

St Albans has one council employee earning more than £100,000 – its chief executive Amanda Foley. She is believed to be the lowest paid chief exec in Hertfordshire.

At Hertfordshire County Council, 12 council employees earned more than £100,000 in 2017-18 including pension contributions.

This includes the chief executive and director of environment John Wood who earned in total £225,887. He has since left his role and been replaced by Owen Mapley.

Directors of children’s services, resources, adult care services, public health, and family safeguarding earned packages of six figures as did the acting director of community protection, the chief legal officer, deputy director of the environment, deputy director of community protection, and deputy chief fire officer.

The local authority with the greatest number of employees receiving remuneration in excess of £100,000 was Essex council with 55 employees in total earning over this amount. Essex also had the highest number of employees earning over £150,000 at 13.

A total of 28 council employees in the UK received deals higher than £250,000 in 2017-18.

Chief executive of the TaxPayer’s alliance, John O’Connell, said at a time when the average council tax bill has gone up by more than £900 over the last 20 years, “disappointingly many authorities are now responding to financial reality through further tax rises and reducing services rather than scaling back top pay”.

All of the councils named above have pointed towards “challenging financial times” with a “wide range of statutory duties and responsibilities that make a huge difference to people’s lives”.

A Watford Borough Council spokesman said: “We want the very best people to work for the council ensuring Watford remains a successful town. Offering the right salary for the job is one way we achieve this.”

A Hertsmere Borough Council spokeswoman added: “The salaries aim to attract and retain the best candidates possible in a competitive market and to support the organisation’s very lean management structure.”

While the county council said Hertfordshire has a lower number of employees earning more than £100,000 compared to other authorities of a similar size

A spokesman added: “We have taken steps to reduce senior management costs in recent years. As a result, the remaining senior managers have taken on more responsibility to lead council staff through challenging financial times, ensuring we continue to deliver important services while still making savings from our budget.”

All pay data and policy can already be found on each of the council’s websites.

Further data from the TaxPayers Alliance and a council breakdown can be found at https://www.taxpayersalliance.com/town_hall_rich_list_2019