Toronto, Nov 19 (IANS): Rob Ford, embattled mayor of Canada's largest city Toronto, was Monday stripped of more of his powers after a wild day in the city council chambers.
The council voted 37-5 to slash Mayor Rob Ford's budget by more than half for the remainder of his term, Xinhua.
Ford's budget, now reduced by 60 percent, will leave him with only eight of his current 20 staff members.
Two other votes were also passed, including one that garnered a 36-6 vote from the council to transfer the remaining mayoral budget to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly and a 30-10 vote to prevent the mayor from designating key items on the legislative agenda.
The series of votes rendered Rob Ford into a mayor in name only.
Ford addressed the chamber and warned the councillors that their votes "do not count".
Likening the situation to "a coup d'etat", Ford continued his speech and ultimately went on to compare what was happening at the council to the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein.
"Well folks, if you think American-style politics are nasty, you guys have just attacked Kuwait," he said.
"Mark my words, friends, this is going to be an outright war in the next election and I'm going to do everything in my power, everything in my power to beat you guys," he added.
The hours-long meeting was marked by many wild moments, including one that was sparked by the public, which began chanting, "Shame! Shame! Shame!" at Ford.
The meeting suffered another chaotic day at the City Hall since Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine earlier this month.
The confession came after local media reported a video of Ford smoking crack cocaine.
The video has sparked public outcry and brought a lot of local and international media attention, which exposed much more of Ford's unacceptable behaviour, including buying and smoking crack cocaine and drunk driving.
Ford has repeatedly apologised but refused to step down from his position despite numerous calls for his resignation.
Last Friday, Toronto councillors voted nearly unanimously to remove Rob Ford's authority.
Despite the challenge, Ford told media Monday evening that "the war is not done, this is just the beginning".