Vacancies are the biggest concern for Dungog Council and highlighted in its draft delivery plan

The three plans, now on public exhibition, are intrinsically linked and essential to the development of Dungog over the next 12 months.

Dungog Mayor John Connors said council would have a balanced budget for the 2023-2024 financial year but it was preparing for tough times as federal funding dried up.

"The budget is terribly dependent on grant funding. The operational plan shows there'll be $42.4 million in capital works intended to be spent during the next financial year and the Operational Plan details where all that money will be spent," Cr Connors said.

Dungog Council's General Manager Gareth Curtis said the plans were not without some concerns and flagged an increase in job vacancies across several council teams as an area that needs to be addressed.

"Chronic labour shortages in the employment markets across NSW and Australia [will impact the operational plan negatively]," Mr Curtis said in a report.

"Council continues to experience a shortage of project managers, engineers, designers, planners and technical roles.

"Consequently the cost of labour/contractors has increased dramatically which was adding to the cost of projects."

In other news:

The series of plans has also reported other factors that contribute to a higher overall risk factor including shortages and escalating costs of materials and a risk of variability in grant funding, according to the council business papers.

Despite this, Cr Connors believes that the council will be able to address these issues, specifically the vacancies that currently exist.

Cr Connors is inviting the Dungog community to engage with these new plans and leave their own feedback on the plan.