Several hundred people packed a Finch Ave. banquet hall to accuse Mayor John Tory of pushing a tax-heavy proposed 2017 budget.

The Monday night “budget consultation” on Finch Ave. W. was organized by Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti.

He told the crowd his often-outrageous antics are mostly to draw attention to city spending run amok.

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“I’ll continue to take the blows (from other councillors) and yes, I am somewhat of a lone wolf at city hall because Doug (Ford) isn’t there,” he told the crowd.

Ford, the ex-councillor who lost to Tory in 2014 and says he might be up for a rematch in next year’s mayoral election, told the crowd: “The gravy train is in full swing down at city hall again.”

He repeated a discredited claim that his late brother Rob’s mayoral administration saved Toronto taxpayers “more than a billion dollars.”

He also listed increased fees and taxes and accused Tory of being dishonest for flip-flopping on tolls.

He said Tory claimed in the 2014 election to be “Rob Ford without the antics.”

“I can assure you, John Tory, you are no Rob Ford,” Ford said to a roar from the crowd.

Toni Raimondo, an event planner, said in an interview she attended because taxes and fees keep going up under Tory.

“I have a very sick child, with cancer, and all my money goes to medicine — the increases are more than inflation, it adds up,” she said.

Asked what she would cut in the budget, Raimondo said people need to pay for the services they use.

“If you go to a community centre you should pay and if you can’t afford it, you don’t go.”

Earlier Monday Tory took aim at the event and “those who aspire to be mayor or whatever their reason is for wanting to have their name in the paper.

“They should be asked about the bus routes that were cut, the reductions that were brought about in the TTC budget in those days not very long ago,” Tory told reporters.

“And we’re determined all of us to make sure that is not the way we’re going, that is not how you’re going to connect people to opportunity in this city.”

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City council begins debating the budget Wednesday.

With files from Ben Spurr

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