Whether taxpayers should pay over $48,000 for Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti’s legal expenses will be left up to a council vote.

After the integrity commissioner found the controversial councillor had wrongly accepted $80,000 from a fundraiser held in his honour, in July, council voted to fine Mammoliti the highest penalty ever imposed — $26,000, the equivalent of three months pay.

Following council’s decision, Mammoliti, who maintains his innocence, launched a court review of his case to overrule the vote and avoid paying the fines.

Since then, Mammoliti has filed three separate invoices to the city for legal costs related to the court challenge — which is not yet completed — according to a report from the city clerk and city’s lawyer to council.

The city’s rules, part of the code of conduct complaints protocol, were changed in 2007 to include reimbursement of legal costs — up to $20,000 — for a successful application for judicial review.

The rules do not require that a member of council win their application, just that they are successful in having the matter heard — which can be a long and costly process.

Mammoliti’s first two invoices, totaling nearly $15,000, have already been reimbursed, according to the report.

The councillor has since submitted a third invoice for nearly $34,000.

The report from the clerk outlines that while the request for reimbursement is “reasonable,” the total requested costs by Mammoliti are more than double the $20,000 limit.

The report leaves the final decision up to council, who meet on Thursday.

“Council needs to decide whether to pay all, part of, or none of the submitted invoice. In addition, city council should provide direction concerning future invoices related to the same judicial review,” the report says.

If council approves the costs, the expenses will be paid out of council’s general expense budget for 2014.

Integrity Commissioner Janet Leiper found that a $500-per-plate fundraiser held in 2013 for Mammoliti included accepting $31,000 from lobbyists or clients of lobbyists. Leiper’s investigation was launched after a CBC story uncovered the details of the fundraiser.

Mammoliti has denied any wrongdoing, arguing the fundraiser was held to support him while undergoing brain surgery.

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The councillor is still facing a police investigation into the fundraiser.

Five charges related to election overspending in 2010 are also still pending in court.