Rob Ford, the embattled mayor of Toronto, was stripped of many of his powers on Monday after a heated city council debate during which he knocked over a woman councillor and heckled members of the public.

In a series of votes, the council voted to cut his office budget by 60%, and allow members of his staff to transfer to the deputy mayor. He will no longer be able to chair the council's executive committee, retaining only his ceremonial powers.

The votes came at the end of an extraordinary meeting at which Ford paced around the council chamber and traded barbs with members of the public. The speaker asked security to clear the chamber and a recess was called. Members of the public chanted "Shame! Shame!" at the mayor.

At one point, Ford charged at the gallery, and knocked over a councillor, Pam McConnell, before picking her back up. Ford said he was rushing to the defense of his brother, city councillor Doug Ford. "I picked her up," Rob Ford said. "I ran around because I thought my brother was getting into an altercation."

Visibly shaken after Ford ran her over, McConnell, who is in her 60s, said she never expected the chaos that broke out. "This is the seat of democracy, it is not a football field. I just wasn't ready. Fortunately, the mayor's staff was in front — they stopped me from hitting my head against the wall. I just need to sit down," McConnell said.

The motion was revised from a tougher version to ward off potential legal challenges. Ford would retain his title and ability to represent Toronto at official functions. The city's lawyer said the proposal does not render Ford "mayor in name only."

"Obviously I cannot do the job with eight people in the office with a quarter of the former mayor's budget," Ford said.

The council does not have the power to remove Ford from office unless he is convicted of a crime. It is pursuing the strongest recourse available after the recent drug abuse revelations and his repeated outbursts of erratic behavior.

"Mayor Ford has had many choices ... Would he change his behavior? Would he step aside and seek help?" said councillor John Filion. "The mayor unfortunately has chosen the path of denial. Now it's time to take away the keys."

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rob Ford criticises the council on his TV show, Ford Nation

Ford contends that councilors acted because they opposed his agenda to save taxpayers' money. "If they want me out, they should just call a snap election," Ford told radio station AM640. The council rejected a motion proposing such an election, and also rejected a motion to give Ford another month to get an expert medical opinion on whether he was capable of carrying out his duties.

Councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong, a former Ford ally, said: "This is about embarrassing the city, his involvement with gangs, his involvement with crack cocaine. This is about his admission that he gets behind the wheel while drinking. He's the worst spokesman for the city of Toronto right now."

Recently released court documents show the mayor became the subject of a police investigation after reports surfaced in May of a video showing him smoking crack cocaine. Ford, who denied there was any incriminating video, now acknowledges the reports were accurate.

In interviews with police, former Ford staffers have made further accusations, saying the mayor drank heavily, sometimes drove while intoxicated and pressured a female staffer to engage in oral sex.

On Thursday, Ford spouted an obscenity on live television while denying the sex allegation, saying he was "happily married" and using crude language to assert that he enjoys enough oral sex at home.

Last week, after admitting excessive drinking and buying illegal drugs, Ford disclosed that he is seeking medical help. But he and his family insist he is not an addict and does not need rehab.

The Associated Press in Toronto contributed to this report