Councillor Mammoliti seeking reimbursement of $48,000 in legal fees for fundraiser ruling fight
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti wants Toronto Council to reimburse $48,000 of legal bills he incurred fighting a council order to dock three months’ pay for holding a fundraiser that Toronto’s integrity commissioner deemed illegal.
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti wants Toronto Council to reimburse $48,000 of legal bills he incurred fighting a council order to dock three months’ pay for holding a fundraiser that Toronto’s integrity commissioner deemed illegal.
The councillor for Ward 7 (York West) has been waging a battle in the courts against the ruling by council and the findings themselves since the summer, when council voted to impose the toughest penalty available to them: docking salary.
Mammoliti was accused of accepting $80,000 from a fundraiser in 2013, which violates the city’s code of conduct for councillors.
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Professing his innocence, Mammoliti took the city to court — first seeking an injunction to prevent the report coming before council, and then seeking a judicial review of the decision of the integrity commissioner and council’s ruling.
Council rules allow a councillor to be remunerated for up to $20,000 for legal expenses incurred, but over three invoices Mammoliti’s legal bills have far exceeded that. The first two bills were for $14,831.24 altogether, and the third invoice is for $33,644.87.
That brings the total bill to $48,476.12, exceeding the funding cap by $28,476.12.
In a report going to the Thursday, Dec. 11, council meeting, staff are advising councillors that Mammoliti’s legal expenses are reasonable and were incurred in good faith, but council will have to decide whether to authorize the additional payment.
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If council does so, and the judicial review goes ahead (Mammoliti has withdrawn the motion for the interim stay of his remuneration), fees for both Mammoliti and the city solicitor could increase dramatically, staff have warned.
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