"My package is not comparable to Mr McCardle (the previous Chief Constable) as I have no moving fees or home allowance.
"We won't be making any more savings beyond the £44 million and I have not identified any savings to be made on top of those that have already been done but we can only spend what is given by the government.
"I want to focus on policing in community spaces and the victims of crime. I won't be playing games with numbers or massaging the figures."
Nick Alston, Essex Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "During the selection process, Stephen's passion to lead Essex Police for a full four years and to serve the people of Essex was crystal clear.
"We had an outstanding field of candidates, of whom Stephen was the very best. Therefore, I have decided to use the discretion given to me under the legislation to ensure that Stephen is remunerated at the top end of the agreed national range."
Mr Kavanagh joined the police in 1985 and was brought up in Essex, where he now lives with his wife and 13-year-old son.
His father also served in the county's police force, and prior to Mr Kavanagh's appointment as Essex Chief Constable he previously held the position of deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police for territorial policing.
He will be replacing Jim Barker-McCardle, who was appointed chief constable in September 8, 2009, and announced his decision to retire from policing for personal reasons in November 2012, but who continued in his role until May 3.
During his previous post Mr Kavanagh advocated the use of plastic bullets and baton rounds during the London riots of 2011.
Mr Kavanagh also took over responsibility for the phone hacking inquiry following Sue Akers' retirement in September 2012.
As a detective inspector he was a founding member of the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force where he had a key role in implementing Community Safety Units, critical incident training for the Association of Chief Police Officers and helped to write the ACPO Race/Hate Crime Manual which responded to the recommendations laid out by the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.
Mr Kavanagh was promoted to chief superintendent and became the borough commander for Barnet, where he served for three years, reducing crime by a third and getting the highest sanction detection rates for assaults and robberies.
But campaigners say Mr Kavanagh's pay rise is a waste of taxpayers' money.
Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "This is a huge increase at a time when police budgets are being tightened. Such a huge increase in pay for the role is impossible to justify when families struggle to make ends meet and rank and file officers see their pay frozen."
On his first day as Chief Constable in Essex he was at Basildon Police Station to meet officers and inspect the custody facilities, then went on the beat with a PCSO.
