Cr Dawn Collins requested a report to council on the costs being spent on the Cenotaph to date but was knocked back by the general manager, Greg Lamont, in the May meeting.

Mr Lamont responded to Cr Collins' question on notice with "this matter was considered in closed meeting on 11 February 2015 wherein out-of-pocket expenses at that time were provided to councillors''. Cr Collins believes the general public deserves to know the costs surrounding the contentious issue of moving the monument.

"It is in the public interest, so why can't they be aware of how much this is costing us?" she asked.

"Where in the guideline can you show me the public are not privy to what it has cost us so far?"

Cr McAnally said because the council was currently tied up in "legal advice" relating to the issue, they were not in a position to release the information.

"We want to make sure we do everything right on the legal side. They (the public) will be privy to it as soon as we get the legal advice tidied up. I don't want to put anything in the paper about what it has cost us," he said.

"I'm not going to put it out there in the public, this is an extremely delicate matter.

"We have had one stonemason pull out who we are exchanging legal works with, as soon as that has been tidied up, we'll tell everyone what it has cost us."

Cr Collins was not convinced the issue had anything to do with the legal advice.

"No this is nothing to do with the legal proceedings. I'm not talking about the legal proceedings, I'm talking about the actual cost of the Cenotaph. This would be the biggest community issue in my time on council," she said.

"We're having things in closed meeting. Can you demonstrate to me why the public cannot know what it has cost us so far besides the legal action."

Cr Collins also question the cost of the "horticultural, architect designer''.

The mayor, general manager and director of engineering all confirmed the cost had not changed.

The discussion resolved in the costings being released when the legal proceedings had been completed.

"So councillor, what it has costed us with the previous stonemason will be recorded in the public, but not at this stage, until we finalise our legal obligations," Cr McAnally said.