A dispute has emerged after Essex County Council spent nearly £37,000 on distributing promotional materials.
The Conservative-led authority has posted leaflets to approximately 340,000 homes advocating the creation of three unified councils to replace the existing 15 local bodies across Essex.
Opposition politicians have condemned the mailout as a misuse of public funds and claimed it violates regulations governing council publicity.
The Liberal Democrats criticised the campaign, with concerns raised about the leaflet's transparency and its failure to acknowledge alternative proposals.
The controversy centres on a document titled "Three new councils. One bright future."
It exclusively promotes the county council's preferred option whilst ignoring three other restructuring plans under consideration.
A formal complaint has been lodged with the local government minister by ten council leaders who support an alternative five-authority structure for Essex.
Stephen Robinson, the Liberal Democrat leader of Chelmsford City Council, who also serves as a county councillor, accused the leaflet of being "a little dishonest" due to its failure to clearly identify Essex County Council as the publisher.
A dispute has emerged after Essex County Council spent nearly £37,000 on distributing promotional materials
| GOOGLERobinson demanded that Conservative leader Kevin Bentley "justify spending all this public money" on the campaign.
In response, the Conservatives highlighted that Chelmsford City Council had used its Facebook presence to advocate for the five-council alternative.
Robinson dismissed this comparison, stating: "That is not a paid advert."
The leaflet displays "Produced by Essex County Council" in small print at the bottom corner.
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The Conservative-led authority has posted leaflets to approximately 340,000 homes
|Bentley defended the expenditure, stating: "We are going through the most fantastical change. It is important that all residents of Essex have the chance to understand what we are proposing."
He maintained that informing residents about significant alterations to service delivery represented "good and proper value for money" and encouraged other councils to conduct similar consultations.
An Essex County Council spokesman said the materials were distributed to locations where inhabitants had limited digital access or were unlikely to utilise online resources.
They said: "It explains and outlines the facts about what a three-unitary-council option would mean, within the relevant guidelines.
"We are not persuading residents to take a specific view; we are encouraging them to find out more."
The council said the content was "fully compliant with publicity code of practice guidelines".
Central Government is currently evaluating all proposals and anticipates conducting public consultations before Christmas regarding Essex's future administrative structure.