Hertfordshire’s top council boss has announced that she is taking early retirement next year as the authority looks to slim down its wage bill.

Caroline Tapster, chief executive of Hertfordshire County Council, will step down in May after 16 years at the authority.

The outgoing 54-year-old’s request to retire was considered and agreed at a formal meeting of the county council’s employment committee on Monday.

Over the past two years the council has undergone a programme of inviting staff to volunteer for redundancy or early retirement to reduce the need for compulsory redundancies. In recent years the authority has come under fire for the amount it pays its top executives.

In 2009 it emerged the county was paying £1.5m in salaries to its 11 most senior bosses with Ms Tapster topping the list on £202,503 a year.

At the time her pay packet made her the eighth highest paid local authority boss in the country, giving her a larger salary than the Prime Minister.

Last year her total pay packet including pension contributions was £251,190 - with a basic salary of £203,427.

The council’s leader Robert Gordon praised Ms Tapsters’s eight-year tenure in the council's top job, saying she “led by example”.

Councillor Gordon said: “Under Caroline Tapster’s management, Hertfordshire County Council has earned its reputation as a leading council, identifying significant efficiencies and improving services to the most vulnerable even in today’s tough economic climate. “The council has recently been short-listed for the Local Government Chronicle’s prestigious Council of the Year Award. “A key part of her contribution has been to develop a strong team of directors, several of whom are well-placed to step up to take on the number one role in the management of the council.”

The county council has said it will not be replacing the role of chief executive like-for-like and will instead merge the role with the responsibilities of one of its other directors.

Following the announcement of her retirement, Ms Tapster said: “After more than 30 years in the public sector, the time is right for me to move on. "Whether as a trainee social worker in Dorset or during my eight years as Hertfordshire County Council’s chief executive, I have enjoyed the challenge and privilege of bringing about improvements to the daily lives of the people we serve. “Despite the difficult financial environment, Hertfordshire County Council is performing strongly and I have every confidence that my senior colleagues have the skills and drive to continue to make Hertfordshire a county of opportunity.

“More than ever, councils are acting as commissioners of services rather than direct providers, and my departure will allow the leader of the council, Robert Gordon, the flexibility to continue to re-shape the way we work at the most senior level. “I would like to thank my colleagues, both employees and county councillors, and my partners in the public sector, who have helped to make my role so fulfilling.”