Toronto ombudsman Fiona Crean’s request for an extra full-time investigator has been denied, while the budget committee has awarded the auditor general extra staff he never asked for.

Critics called that payback for Crean’s recent report, which found that Mayor Rob Ford’s office had meddled in civic appointments by drafting a list of preferred candidates.

“The evidence certainly points to this being a political payback for her reports,” said Councillor Joe Mihevc. “Budget time is the time to get back at people, and it seems like this is the play.”

But members of the budget committee, mostly Ford administration allies, defended the decision and denied Crean was being punished.

While auditor general Jeff Griffiths hadn’t requested extra help, the budget committee knew he wanted and could use more staff, said Councillor Frank Di Giorgio, a budget committee member.

The committee resolved to give Crean a half-time position and Griffiths a half-time position as well.

“We ended up giving Mr. Griffiths half a person because the ombudsman ended up getting half a person,” Di Giorgio said. “The question is, you’ve got to try and treat everybody fairly.”

Mihevc didn’t see it that way.

“It is very peculiar that whenever staff resources are requested, the budget chair has a propensity for saying there’s no money. And here the auditor gets a free position at the expense of the ombudsman that’s had some conflict with city council.

“If this doesn’t smack of an attempt to slap the hands of an accountability officer, I don’t know what does.”

Crean, whose office totals 10 people including herself, had requested $92,000 for an investigator but is instead getting $46,000.

Griffiths’ office totalled 29 people from 2006 to 2010. But it has since dropped to 27, with two vacancies that the auditor general wasn’t planning to fill so as to flat-line his budget.

Councillor John Parker, a budget committee member, disagreed with the decision. He would have given both offices an extra staffer.

Parker said it makes good financial sense to properly staff the auditor general’s office because it roots out waste, which saves the city money.

“We all knew that he wanted more, that he could use more, and we would benefit if he had more,” Parker said. “What the auditor general does is find ways to save the taxpayers money, which benefits us all, so we wanted to help him out.”

Crean, in presenting her budget request, said her reports on topics such as how the city handles water billing and parking tickets could lead to savings as well.

Her investigations, which have prompted the city to change its procedures, “eliminate future complaints, they eliminate repeat complaints, they improve quality for residents and they save money and resources over the long term,” she said.

“I believe an investment in this office is a direct investment in improving customer service.”

However, the audit committee chair, Councillor Doug Holyday, said Griffiths can show directly how his work saves money.

“It’s like making an investment,” Holyday said. He said it’s harder to measure actual savings arising from Crean’s work.

“It’s harder to show, and I guess it’s a leap of faith in some instances,” he said.

Crean said she will have to ponder how to deploy the funds, since they’re insufficient to hire a year-round investigator.

Di Giorgio suggested Crean could hire someone for the second half of 2013 and apply in 2014 for funds to make it year round.