Wodonga Council has put an uppermost limit of $1 million on the work that mayor Rodney Wangman says should connect with the site’s rail history and complete the planned urban square on the corner of High Street and Elgin Boulevard.

Cr Wangman says the council has set aside $600,000 for the artwork in this year’s budget, with any remainder to come from state government funds.

But even that may be too pricey for ratepayers upset at the council’s ongoing expenditure while it meets debt repayments and continues to increase its annual impost upon them.

Cr Wangman says selection of the right piece of work is critical to encouraging the public to enjoy and be active in the space.

Certainly a signature centrepiece will give the space an increased public profile, but possibly for all the wrong reasons.

Is the council creating a monument to itself at the expense of listening to its ratepayers, who have repeatedly asked for sound fiscal management rather than an expensive white elephant?