NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will not say how much the bill is for closing the Victorian border, despite Albury mayor Kevin Mack putting a figure on it.
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The city leader says a seven-figure sum is being spent each 24 hours to maintain checkpoints along the Murray River.
"Every day this stands is another million dollars lost for our economy," Cr Mack said.
"It's another million dollars they spend on police being on our borders."
The Border Mail put questions to Ms Berejiklian's media team last week, asking if Cr Mack's figure was correct and if not what was the amount being spent.
A representative responded this week, stating "we are going to decline your request for answers on this one" without giving a reason why taxpayers should not know how much the 127-day closure has cost.
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Ms Berejiklian's Liberal Party colleague and member for Albury Justin Clancy did not confirm or dispute Cr Mack's figure.
"I don't have visibility of the costs details, obviously it's been a significant operation and there's costs in that," Mr Clancy said.
He noted the border closure potentially saved the NSW economy and government a lot of money by strangling travel from the coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne.
"In terms of the impact on NSW if we had to go into lockdown there would have been significant costs in that," Mr Clancy said.
"The NSW government has been prepared to meet that cost for both the health of its people and the economy."
The operation has seen 500 police used across the 55 border crossings from the coast west to Wentworth.
The Police Association of NSW president Tony King, who was once an officer at Deniliquin, could not say how much it had cost.
Personnel from as far away as the Coffs Harbour-Clarence police region, as well as the Central West, Newcastle and Sydney, have partaken in week-long border stints.
"It's been an eye-opening experience for the police, some of whom come from difficult commands and difficult locations," Mr King said, noting they had appreciated the rural hospitality.
"Some of the people I've spoken to were starting to think about a country deployment to see what it's like, now they had a taste, so it could help with recruiting (to regions)."
