Councillors were asked to foot the final bill of up to $10,000 at Monday night's council meeting after the event could not go ahead due to the coronavirus crisis.

While the motion was passed, it was not without opposition from Cr Paul Funnell - who doesn't support the Mardi Gras and pushed for councillors to use the "discretionary spending" elsewhere.

Cr Funnell's efforts gained the support of Cr Yvonne Braid, but was squashed by the majority of councillors.

Wagga mayor Greg Conkey said that while the council was not legally obligated to uphold the final payment of the sponsorship, the majority of councillors "felt a moral obligation" to do so.

The council paid $10,000 upfront as part of the sponsorship, with the remaining $10,000 to be paid after the event.

"However we had a discussion with (event organiser) Holly Conroy the day before the Wagga Mardi Gras was due to take place and told her the situation and our preference," Cr Conkey said.

"She showed tremendous leadership by agreeing to postpone it until next year."

Cr Conkey said Ms Conroy was out of pocket and made the right decision for the residents of Wagga.

"She was doing the right thing for the Wagga community and (going forward with the event) could have had serious ramifications as far as the health of the community was concerned," he said.

Cr Conkey added that the outstanding payment of $10,000 had already been included in the council's budget.

Crs Conkey, Kerry Pascoe, Rod Kendall, Tim Koschel, Vanessa Keenan, Dan Hayes and Dallas Tout voted to support the motion.