An outspoken councillor who suggested that staff wrestled control of the city from elected officials has partially apologized for his comment in order to be allowed inside council chambers.

Speaker Frances Nunziata abruptly ended a council meeting at around 8 p.m. Monday after an outburst from Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti concerning the input of staff on a motion that was about to be voted on.

"I apologize to you if I offended you or anyone else in this chamber, but I do not and I will not withdraw my comments with respect to how I feel about city staff and the comments they make about motions," Mammoliti told Nunziata Tuesday morning. “If I offended anybody I am sorry but I am here to represent 70,000 people with my voice.”

Mammoliti was originally ordered to leave Tuesday’s meeting, but he was allowed to return to plead his case after a unanimous vote.

Council then voted 18-12 to allow Mammoliti to remain in the chamber following his apology.

The apology came about 20 minutes after Mammoliti told CP24 that any expression of contrition he made concerning his comments wouldn’t be genuine.

“I won’t mean that I am sorry because I am not,” he said. “I mean it when I say that city staff should not be running city hall. It is the politicians that run city hall and city staff are becoming cocky, arrogant and outright mean in some instances and I am someone who thinks enough is enough.”

Mammoliti’s comments Monday night were made following a heated argument with councillors Adam Vaughan and Joe Mihevc.

Speaking with CP24 at city hall Tuesday morning, Mihevc said Mammoliti should be kept on a tight leash as council resumes its meeting.

“He is acting like a 12-year-old, he is behaving like a 12-year-old, so if I was the chair I would treat him like a 12-year-old and ask him to apologize and if there is one more outburst I would throw him out without any recourse,” he said. “This has to end.”

Ford says he is ‘super sorry’ for corruption comment

After Mammoliti was asked to leave Monday’s council meeting, Mayor Rob Ford was reportedly heard saying the “corrupt ones can stay” in an apparent reference to Vaughan and Mihevc.

Ford was not ordered to leave chambers following the remark, but he was asked to apologize for it Tuesday morning.

Ford then retracted the statement, but was pressed for a fuller apology by Coun. John Parker.

“How about I am so sorry?” he said. “What do you want Madame Speaker? Like super, super, super, super sorry or so sorry.”

Following his apology, Ford was seen walking toward the exit, mimicking being handcuffed. He then returned to his seat smiling.

Council approves water budget

Following Ford and Mammoliti’s apologies Tuesday morning, council resumed debate on the 2014 Toronto Water budget, eventually voting 36-5 in favour of adopting it.

The budget includes a plan for an eight per cent rate increase in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to help cover the cost of repairs to city infrastructure.

The increase was added to the budget because a nine-year plan to raise rates by nine per cent annually comes to an end this year.

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