The salaries of Bradford Council’s highest-earning executives have been revealed by pressure group the Taxpayers’ Alliance.

Under new rules which come into force today, local authorities must disclose names, positions and pay-packets of every employee who earns more than £150,000.

For its annual “Town Hall Rich List”, released today, the Taxpayers’ Alliance used the Freedom of Information Act to request details on all salaries over £100,000.

The figures are for the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09. According to the Taxpayers’ Alliance, Bradford Council “refused to release name or breakdown of remuneration”.

But they did list the positions and their salaries, revealing that for the year 2008-09 chief executive Tony Reeves earned £182,571 – made up of a salary of £178,476 and “other remuneration” of £4,095.

This was a hike of 4.9 per cent on his previous year’s package of £174,208.

The information is outdated, though – the report lists a deputy chief executive earning £152,230, though that position no longer exists at the Council.

The highest increase in pay was a 12.2 per cent rise for the role currently occupied by Becky Hellard, strategic director of corporate services – from £122,970 to £137,931.

Mark Wallace, campaign director of the Taxpayers Alliance told the Telegraph & Argus: “These are huge salaries that will surprise a lot of Bradford taxpayers but the really surprising thing is how fast they are rising.

“The chief executive is getting a 4.8 per cent pay rise in the middle of a recession and the strategic director for corporate services is getting a 12 per cent rise.

“That really is something which is utterly unfair. Whether you are a local taxpayer or a front line worker in the local council, everybody is tightening their belts, but when it comes to council bosses, the recession seems to have never existed.

“I think people will be understandably angry. We have seen our council tax more or less double in the last decade and we are constantly told that services such as bin collections or services for the elderly are under threat.

“Against this background, it will be interesting to see how these people can defend these huge salaries.”

A Council spokesman said that the salaries had not increased since the report was put together and were unlikely to go up this year.

Matt Burghardt, Bradford Council’s assistant director of human resources, said: “Salaries of top executives between April 2009 and March 2010 were frozen at the same rate as the previous year. Local Government Employers have signalled that there will be a continuation of the pay freeze for top executives from April to March 2011. Negotiations are ongoing.”

A spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, said: “Councils need talented people in top management positions but they have to balance this with the need, in a tight financial situation, for all salaries to be demonstrably reasonable.

“In these tough economic times, it is only right that everyone gets to see how much is paid to the people who help deliver their local services.

“These figures represent 0.0008 per cent of the total workforce in local government.

“Councils are responsible for ensuring that more than £120billion of taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and provides more than 700 services local people want and need.

“Many councils have bigger budgets than FTSE100 companies and to get the brightest people to deliver the best services at the lowest cost for local people they need to pay a competitive wage.

HOW COUNCIL IS STRUCTURED NOW

The make-up of Bradford Council’s top level has changed since the Taxpayer’s Alliance report was done.

This is the current management structure:

* Chief Executive – Tony Reeves.

* Assistant Director Public Affairs and Communications – Alison Milner.

* Director West Yorkshire Pension Fund – Rodney Barton.

* Strategic Director Performance and Commissioning – Mary Weastell.

* Strategic Director Corporate Services – Becky Hellard.

* Strategic Director Children and Young People – Kath Tunstall.

* Strategic Director Adult and Community Services – Moira Wilson.

* Strategic Director Culture, Tourism and Sport – Jane Glaister.

* Strategic Director Regeneration – Barra Mac Ruairi.

* Strategic Director Environment and Neighbourhoods – Ian Bairstow.

* Joint Director of Public Health – Anita Sims.

HOW OTHER COUNCILS COMPARE

Bradford (pop 501,700): chief executive, £182,571; other high earners, £1,061,631.

* Birmingham (pop 1,016,800): chief executive, £200,372; other high earners, £1,415,000. * Leeds (pop 770,800): chief executive, £193,658; other high earners, £1,293,689.

* Sheffield (pop 534,500): executive director, £185,492; other high earners, £452,099.

* Wiltshire (pop 455,500): chief executive, £163,250; other high earners, £898,500. * Liverpool (pop 434,900): chief executive, £217,500; other high earners, £2,660,000.