Only 7951 formal responses to Saturday's mayoral referendum have been recorded, but at this stage 51.18 per cent of Wagga residents have voted in favour of changing system.

The mayor is currently chosen by councillors every two years but if this results holds, a mayoral election will be held every four years, where residents vote on which councillor takes the top spot.

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The change will come at an increased cost of about $47,000 each year an election is held.

Referendum votes from nine of Wagga's polling stations are still yet to be recorded which are expected to include an additional 12,000 responses and all pre-poll, postal and online referendum votes have not yet been tallied.

Counting will continue on Monday and the official tally will begin to form over the next few weeks.

The Daily Advertiser spoke to Wagga voters across the city on Saturday and despite the 'Yes' vote currently being in the lead - all were against the proposed change.

"I really think it should be a 'No' vote because we don't want the donkey vote to end up deciding the mayor," Kooringal resident John Smith said.

"We really need the councillors who have the inside knowledge and who know who the better leader is to be able to decide that and not the general public."

This sentiment was shared by Wagga resident Sam Parker who said he was voting against the referendum due to the increased cost.

"I'm not a fan of directly electing mayors because of the cost it brings and I hope people are aware of that cost because it is significant," Mr Parker said.

"The mayor also holds the deciding vote so they need to be representative of the rest of the people on council."

Local resident Fran Trench was also against the change and believed the 'No' vote would end up winning.

"I think it's very important the mayor is chosen on their ability and not on their personality," Ms Trench said.

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