Griffith City Council will be answering budget questions in a livestreamed conference on May 18

The drafted budget and operational plan are on public exhibition, including a much-deliberated plan to raise rates by a total of over 30 per cent by 2026.

Council is pushing for an increase of 7.5 per cent over the IPART-induced rate peg, which already raises the rates by 3.7 per cent for local councils every year.

Ahead of the live Q&A session, Council has released a video online with general manager Brett Stonestreet explaining the state of the budget - noting that the general fund for 2023/2024 was already in a difficult position.

"I'd like to emphasise the general fund ... the result for the 2023/2024 financial year, there is a 3.76 million dollar deficit anticipated for that fund. That is a difficult result for the community and for council," Mr Stonestreet said.

Griffith mayor Doug Curran said they had released the video to give people time to catch up on details before the consultation.

"We're just trying to allow people a bit more time to comprehend what we're saying, especially with the SRV discussion. That's added a lot of interest," he said.

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Griffith City Council has asked residents to submit their questions ahead of time in order to give them time to prepare and provide answers, but Cr Curran said they would make an effort to answer any questions on the night.

"If someone asks us a question that we don't have an answer to right then and there, we'll have to provide it later ... if people watch it and come up with considered questions, they'll get a bit of priority," he said.

The online Q&A will be livestreamed on Griffith City Council's facebook page on 5pm, on May 18.

There will also be a special COG meeting devoted to the budget on June 6 at the Yoogali Club.

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