Toronto Coun. Giorgio Mammolitti exceeded campaign spending limits in the 2010 municipal election, according to a forensic audit.

The audit released Friday found that the outspoken councillor for Ward 7 (York West) overspent the campaign's legal limit by $12,065 in an "apparent contravention" of the Municipal Elections Act.

The firm that conducted the probe, Froese Forensic Partners, was called in after retired teacher David DePoe filed a complaint about Mammoliti's campaign finances.

The auditors accepted Mammoliti's arguments that an initial run for mayor that year that was later abandoned for a campaign for the council seat in ward seven may have caused some of the campaign's "accounting issues."

Candidates who violate campaign spending limits under the Municipal Elections act may be fined, or even removed from office.