Wagga City Council asked the state government to contribute nearly twice the amount it had set aside for floodplain grants statewide this financial year towards the levee upgrade.
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The Advertiser can reveal council forged ahead in applying for $14.2 million in funding despite being advised on several occasions by the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) it should submit a greatly reduced funding request.
It is understood the total funding available under the OEH’s floodplain management grants for the 2015-16 financial year was around $7.5 million.
A separate submission by council for $2.013 million has been placed on a reserve list.
Should projects approved by the OEH either not proceed or come in under budget, funding may be released to Wagga City Council, though that would only cover stage one of a revised levee project.
Mayor Rod Kendall said the $14.2 million application was lodged to “demonstrate the total inadequacy of the funding program” and to try and get as much of the funding required up front.
“We want to start the project and complete it in a reasonable amount of time – we don’t want it to go over 20 years,” he said.
Member for Wagga Daryl Maguire told the Advertiser he was attempting to secure more funding for flood projects, which would allow the levee upgrade to begin.
“Other communities, along with Wagga, have projects that require funding far beyond what’s available,” Mr Maguire said.
