NORTH Wagga residents have re-assembled in their fight for a levee upgrade by hosting a fundraiser today to cover costs of potential legal action against Wagga City Council.
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The fundraising lunch on the North Wagga Levee was also a chance for residents to show solidarity in their bid to have the levee raised to a one-in-100 year level of protection.
Led by the North Wagga Residents' Association, the target is $50,000.
As of October 18, they have raised $21,000.
Plans in taking the council to court started earlier this year after the association was not satisfied with the council's response to a petition on the matter.
In August, solicitor solicitor Stewart Levitt, acting on behalf of the association, wrote a letter to the council accusing it of using state funding for other purposes.
Mr Levitt then visited the city in September to meet with residents to discuss the matter.
Today, Dan Grentell, vice president of North Wagga Residents' Association, said the plans and discussions surrounding legal actions are progressing well.
"We find ourselves better positioned each day with the information we're getting," Mr Grentell said.
"We just want council to give us what we deserve - our one-in-100-year flood protection, just like they've given the main city.
"We're all equal these days so we need our equal protection, that's all we're looking for."
Mr Grentell said the show of support during today's fundraiser was positive.
"We're just letting people know that we're here and we're not going anywhere and council needs to realise that. We're not going to stop fighting for what we deserve," he said.
In September, the council said it denied claims about diverting state and federal government money meant for North Wagga flood protection.
This included the accusation that it has diverted $6.8 million state funding for the project, first identified in a 2015 state government report.
"This accusation is completely denied by council. It simply is not true in any way ... the truth of the matter is quite the opposite," general manager Peter Thompson said in September.
"Council has not received any funding from the NSW government for new flood mitigation works in North Wagga. It is hoped such funds will be provided in the future when the works themselves are finalised."
In June, Mr Thompson said the council's Floodplain Risk Management Advisory Committee had selected two options to consider in more detail and grant funding had been announced for the two studies.
One is raising the height of the levee to a one-in-20-year protection and the other is voluntary house purchase or voluntary house-raising.
Related coverage
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- Residents threaten to take council to court over flooding concerns
- North Wagga residents fight for fairness over flood protection
- Council denies misusing North Wagga flood money