The city’s watchdogs are fighting back after having part of their budget request cut ahead of a final debate Thursday.

After Mayor John Tory’s budget chief Councillor Gary Crawford eliminated new spending that three of the city’s accountability officers had requested to deal with the volume and complexity of investigations, they have charged those cuts could lead to less compliance with the rules that govern staff, council members and lobbyists and less transparency.

On Wednesday afternoon, the city’s integrity commissioner Valerie Jepson, who is responsible for investigating complaints about council members conduct, took the unusual step of issuing a letter to council members.

She asked council to consider reinstating the $190,000 in new spending she had requested to fund “external legal and investigative services to be used for complex investigations, high volumes of work and necessary legal presentation if I am required to take a Municipal Conflict of Interest Act matter to court.”

Jepson, whose term as integrity commissioner runs out this September, has said the funds are “contigency-based” and only to be used as the need arises.

The request was included in the staff-recommended budget last month but reversed by the budget committee in a successful motion from Crawford, which also eliminated $167,200 for the ombudsman’s office and $255,100 for the lobbyist registrar.

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The reductions in part funded an increase to arts and culture funding, menstrual hygeine products for shelter, respite and drop-in clients, the Scarborough Works Youth Employment Plan, the city’s Muslim fellowship program, student nutrition programs extended to independent schools, staffing for the Toronto Police Services board and an increase to staffing for the auditor general — the city’s fourth watchdog.

Councillors Mike Layton and Shelley Carroll voted against the motion.

“I have not been provided with any reason or rationale for this decision,” Jepson wrote in her letter.

Jepson said she was writing to ensure the office was properly equipped, especially after she departs and that her successor “will not be faced with a high backlog of open matters, as has been the case in the past.”

Layton asked the watchdogs about the funds being eliminated at Tory’s executive committee on Monday.

Ombudsman Susan Opler noted they have seen an increase in complaints — a trend she said can be expected to continue with fewer councillors following a cut by the provincial government. Her office deals with complaints about the public service and is contacted by council members when they aren’t able to resolve an issue.

“Without the increase we are unable to keep up with the volume.”

The lobbyist registrar Cristina De Caprio, whose office manages a public list of those who make contact and hold meetings with public officials in order to try to sway them on city business, put the cut in stark terms.

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“What is at risk is compliance, which means a reduction in transparency,” she said. “The public is the beneficiary of the disclosure that happens on our registry.”

On Twitter, Layton responded to a report of Jepson’s letter: “Accountability was deliberately cut from the budget and this will impact transparency and trust for city officials. Accountability shouldn’t be an option, it should be mandatory.”

The final budget decisions are up to council, who meet Thursday.