The upgrade - which has been broken down into four stages and due to be fully completed by June 2022 - has passed the halfway mark of the second stage of the development, with the northern side of the road between Ulong Street and Kooyoo Street reopening to traffic on March 27.

Griffith mayor John Dal Broi said while the Yambil upgrade is due to continue due to a significant chunk of the finances involved in the work coming through state funding, other projects which have been earmarked to begin in the coming 12 months may need to be put on pause so council can free up funds to help staff and ratepayers impacted by COVID-19.

"We'll do everything we can within our financial capacity to help ratepayers who need it," Councillor Dal Broi said.

"There are projects out there funded partly or wholly through council finances that may need to be put on hold ... we'd be looking at projects that haven't even been commenced yet.

"Not everyone will be happy but our first priority is ensuring nobody slips through the cracks."

Cr Dal Broi said councillors and staff intend to go through the council's budget "line-by-line" over the course of the next two council workshops before presenting a final report to council at the April 28 meeting.

The comments come as the state's peak body for local government calls on the federal government to reverse the decision to deny councils access to the JobKeeper program.

The JobKeeper program allows for businesses affected by COVID-19 to receive $1500 per fortnight per employee to help cover wages, with eligible businesses needing to show a more than 30 per cent drop in turnover since March 1 and have an overall turnover of less than $1 billion.

However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison clarified the criteria and said local government staff would not fall under the JobKeeper provisions - with the responsibility falling on the state governments to provide assistance for councils.

Local Government NSW president Linda Scott said councils need to be able to access the program themselves to allow for services operating and keep staff in their jobs.

Councillor Scott said without it, councils may have to resort to closing certain services and standing down staff as is already happening in a number of councils across the nation.

"It is absolutely critical that councils have access to the JobKeeper assistance package," Cr Scott said.

"Councils want to keep as many staff in jobs as possible, so we can do our bit in keeping our local economies running."

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Cr Dal Broi said council have casual workers - mainly at the city's library and aquatic centre - who have been impacted by COVID-19 related closures and while council is unable to access the JobKeeper program, those workers are eligible to tap into the JobSeeker program as council look to find ways to reduce the ratepaying burden on community members.

"We have hundreds, maybe thousands [in the city] who work part time or casually," Cr Dal Broi said.

"We are looking at all the avenues ... it's not going to be easy."

"Nothing like this has ever happened before ... it's scary and it will test the resilience of our community."

An update from council on the Yambil Street upgrade stated work will continue as planned for the moment.

"At this stage, construction works will continue with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic and subject to the national directives," the April 2 update read.

"We are currently in Week 1 of a 20 week schedule for the southern side of stage two.

"The schedule is of course always dependent on weather and other external factors which may extend the work schedule accordingly."