Mayor Tom Bain says a name change from the town of to the Municipality of Lakeshore will cost $30,000.
Ward 1 Councillor Steven Wilder had previously told AM800 News the changeover would cost in excess of $50,000 when all is said and done, which was reflected in the report that went before council.
"It's the legal documents, the pay stubs, the automatic withdrawals, contracts, and everything else that needs to be changed," said Wilder. "That initial costing, I'm pretty sure it's clear in there that it wasn't going to be the full cost."
Wilder is one of the councillors who opposed the move during a 6-2 vote to change the name last year.
Bain tells AM800 News he has gone to administration for clarification on the full cost.
"I believe the range they're looking at is in around the $30,000 mark," he says. "A lot of that's going to be involving staff time, which you're paying anyway."
Bain says signage is being changed this month, but other items will be slowly phased in to save money throughout the year.
"[We are] not rushing out and changing everything immediately, so it will be phased in to certainly do some cost savings there," he added.
Bain says changing the name to Municipality of Lakeshore follows suit with the Municipality of Leamington so residents don't have to live in towns within a town.
"This was just a way of allowing them to keep their town's identity and yet be a part of the lager picture of Lakeshore," says Bain.
Wilder doesn't see the urgency for the change and considers it a waste of taxpayer money.
"Everyone knows there's Harrow, they know Colchester, they know all these other areas and it's still The Town of Essex," he says. "I wasn't convinced it was a necessary change."
The changeover is expected to take six months to a year to complete.
— With files from AM800's Rob Hindi