MORE than 60 council managers in Sussex received more than £100,000 a year in salary, pension, pay-offs and bonuses, a new report has revealed.

The number of local authority bosses in the county receiving a six-figure sum from their employers in 2015/16 rose by almost ten per cent in 12 months despite councils having to find millions of pounds in cuts.

West Sussex County Council moved up into the top 20 authorities in the country with the most £100,000-a-year staff after increasing the number of six-figure remuneration packages by 50 per cent.

Brighton and Hove City Council’s former chief executive Penny Thompson found herself among the 20 highest paid council officers in the country.

Her £269,000 pay-off from the role in summer 2015 boosted her total remuneration to £349,795, according to figures from the TaxPayers’ Alliance tenth Town Hall Rich List.

In total 64 bosses received £100,000 a year with four councils increasing the number of six-figure payments.

The campaign group’s chief executive John O’Connell said rising numbers of town hall bosses were pocketing “huge remuneration packages” while less well-paid colleagues in the public sector were facing a “much-needed pay freeze”.

He said: “The average council tax bill has gone up by more than £900 over the last 20 years and spending has gone through the roof.

“Disappointingly, many local authorities are now responding to financial reality through further tax rises and reducing services rather than scaling back top pay.”

An East Sussex County Council spokesman said it had seven staff earning £100,000 in 2016/17, down from nine in the two years before.

He added: “It’s important that we’re able to attract candidates with the experience and skills to carry out their roles effectively.

“Our policy is to offer all staff, including senior officers, salaries which are in line with the average for people doing similar jobs in the public sector in the South East.

“In recent years we’ve significantly reduced the number of senior managers as part of the considerable savings the council has had to make.”

A Mid Sussex District Council spokesman said: “Mid Sussex District Council has maintained a tight control over costs and used new, cost-effective ways of delivering services to generate millions of pounds of savings without making any cuts to frontline services.

“This approach has been applied to our management team, just like every other area of the council, and a recent restructure of senior managers has enabled us to make further savings of £44,000 per annum.”

A Rother District Council spokesman said: “Senior officer roles come with considerable responsibility and, to ensure we attract candidates with the expertise and experience required, we need to pay a competitive salary in line with similar local government posts in the South East.”

A Crawley Borough Council spokesman said the number of highly paid officers had dropped from five to two following restructuring.