The new council comprises four returning councillors and five new faces following last month's election.

The Daily Advertiser has spoken to each of the nine councillors ahead of their swearing in on Monday night to get a sense of their priorities for the upcoming term.

For some it is addressing the council's budget deficit, while for others it is fostering a strong relationship with their fellow councillors.

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Bringing a level of experience to the table is Labor's Dan Hayes, who is one of the four returning councillors.

Mr Hayes said that strengthening the council's financial position would be a priority during this term of council.

He said the greatest hurdle will be determining the council's primary goals so that resources can be spent efficiently.

"It's identifying what the priorities are for the community, understanding what are the challenges with our budget, and looking at what people want versus what we can deliver," he said.

"What councils are being asked to do and what resources we have to do it, there's a pretty big gap between those things."

However, he said the only way things get done is with optimism.

"Wagga's obviously a great city and we've got fantastic opportunities ahead of us."

Focused on those opportunities is new face Georgie Davies, who pipped former councillor Paul Funnell at the post to claim the ninth and final spot on council.

"What's really good about the council this time around is that there are so many fresh faces," she said. "I think that's going to really change the face of some of the decisions being made for the better."

Acknowledging that this term will be shorter than most, Ms Davies is keen to hit the ground running.

"I think the top priorities for me are really looking at fixing the state of our roads," she said. "I really want to be looking at whether council could be looking at better quality materials to patch the holes."

She also wants to look into shade sails and cooling down the city's playgrounds, a vision shared by Greens councillor Jennifer McKinnon.

"I want to look for what other sort of features I might have in common with other councillors so that we can work together to achieve the things that we were campaigning on and reward the faith that people showed by voting for us," Dr McKinnon said.

COVID-19 recovery will be high on the agenda for the newcomer, but she said establishing a good working relationship with her council colleagues will make for the best starting point.

"We're all on the same page and looking to establish a very positive way forward that sees all councillors working together," she said.

Returning for another term is Rod Kendall, who shares a similar mindset, having campaigned to see the end to alleged bullying behaviour and harassment among councillors.

He stated simply that at the end of the day, decisions will need to be a team effort.

"The biggest thing to get across the line is to make sure we've got a good working relationship, not only in the council group but with senior management," he said. "If you achieve that, then everything else will just flow from that."

He and fellow returning councillor Tim Koschel share a primary focus on handling the city's financial planning and budget management appropriately.

Mr Koschel said new funding sources will need to be considered given the council's current position.

"We're running a projected $4 million deficit for the next nine years," he said. "So we need to look into alternative funding so that we will be able to afford the basic things we need, plus the additional things we need on top of that.

"We need to make sure that the budget is set up correctly so we can afford things like roads, which is obviously our biggest concern with all of our residents."

Economic resilience is also on the mind of first-term councillor Richard Foley, who is excited about what he hopes to be a collegial term.

There is only so much money that ratepayers can be expected to cough up, so Mr Foley is keen to look at opportunities to increase funding from other sources.

"We've had not enough funding granted to this city and I'm not saying we're more special than others, but I just think that there really needs to be a focus on how are we going to deliver these vital infrastructure issues which people are wanting," he said.

Dallas Tout is ready to kick-off his third term in office and is also expected to nominate for the role of mayor.

"I want to continue on and finalise a lot of projects that were initiated during the last term of council," he said.

"But also to work with the council itself to put together a revised community strategic plan this year."

Mr Tout said the biggest challenge on his agenda is COVID recovery and supporting local businesses as the pandemic continues to impact the community.

New Labor councillor Amelia Parkins also recognises the role the pandemic will play during the first 12 months of the term.

"With COVID, we're going to be looking at different ways of gathering," she said

Miss Parkins said while she is new to council, she will look to have her campaign promises added to the agenda early, including improvements to the city's footpath network.

"Wagga's got some fabulous outdoor spaces and if we can make it easy and safe for people to access those either on foot or bike ... I think that'd be a really great thing for the city," she said.

Wagga Boat Club commodore Mick Henderson was the most popular individual candidate in Wagga's council election and said he will be focusing his first year on integrating himself into the community and council procedures.

Mr Henderson said the biggest challenges faced by council included "the upgrade of infrastructure, the completion of jobs and the current financial situation of the council" but he believed there was room for optimism.

"There are fresh faces on the council all keen to move forward as a group in the one direction, which I believe will be a benefit to the community in the long run," he said.

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