A list of successful recipients for the Office and Environment and Heritage’s 2015-16 floodplain management grants was briefly published on the department’s website on Friday before being taken down.

It is believed the list, which did not feature Wagga City Council, was published in error.

Member for Wagga Daryl Maguire told the Advertiser on Friday he was unaware the process had been finalised, but said he believed the funding available across the state for flood-related projects was insufficient.

“If there are questions being asked about Wagga’s (funding) application, they were probably (made) with good reason,” he said.

“This is only one round and I’m advocating for more funds – it’s early days. If there were deficiencies in the Wagga application, we’ll deal with it and move on.”

Mr Maguire, the parliamentary secretary for emergency services, has broached the issue of extra funding for flood projects within the government party room.

Missing out on state government funding has thrown into question about whether council will forge ahead with a rate rise to pay for its share of the levee upgrade.

Councillor Paul Funnell said he believed council would persist with applying for the special rate variation and would probably need to take out a loan to cover the shortfall.

“We’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” he said.

“We have to build the levee.”

Cr Funnell, who walked out on council’s flood risk advisory committee in August, said the levee should have been priorities ahead of other projects that council has spent tens of millions of dollars on in recent years – such as the $13 million gasworks remediation and the $1 million Equex multipurpose facility, where work has yet to begin.

“If you add all that up, we could have built two levee banks,” he said.

“Maybe that’s why they felt Wagga, squandering money, didn’t deserve to get it. (The levee) should be the number one priority.”

Council’s seven-figure spend on public art in recent years was also questioned by Cr Funnell, given the need for the levee.

Mayor Rod Kendall did not return phone calls from the Advertiser on Friday.