Mayor Neil Smith has stated council would find itself in financial strife if it could not secure the $3.5 million it had requested late last month, or the additional $1.5 million it asked for on Tuesday last week.

In a letter to The Daily Advertiser, Cootamundra MP Katrina Hodgkinson said “the $3.5 million had been shortlisted for funding and would likely be announced in the budget.”

But no funding was specifically set aside for the prison’s sewage upgrade following Tuesday’s announcement.

Ms Hodgkinson stated the project had been “shortlisted” for funds available within the $1 billion Safe and Secure Water Program, adding she had “100 per cent confidence” the requested funds would arrive.

The absence of a concrete agreement or an approximate timeline has been an ongoing concern for council, according to Cr Smith, with the sewage upgrade needing to be completed by July, 2018 to coincide with the jail’s expansion.

“They’ve flagged that council will likely get what it has asked for, but it’s cold comfort when you don’t have it in the bag,” he said. 

“At the moment it’s just a wink and a nod.”

Cr Smith conceded council should have requested the funds sooner, but defended council partially funding the privately run prison. 

“We realise the value the correctional centre brings in term of economic benefits in the region, along with its charitable donations,” he said.

But former Liberal senator and Junee local Bill Heffernan has claimed the town is being cheated in a “disgusting” way. 

“We’re providing a service and a courtesy to the government to have a jail out here and this is the disgusting treatment we receive,” Mr Heffernan said.