On November 6, 2019, Karygiannis was removed as a member of City Council for Ward 22 due to misspending on the supplementary financial statement of his 2018 election. The "Municipal Elections Act" permitted a maximum of 10 per cent of total funds ($6,120.80) to be spent for "parties and other expressions of appreciation" in Ward 22 after election day; Karygiannis exceeded this limit by $25,962.70. Karygiannis argued that the expense was an inadvertent clerical error, which represented a legitimate and legal expense that was simply miscategorized in the wrong line item.