Coun. Nick Ruller has been appointed fire chief in Brampton and is stepping down from his job as NOTL town councillor, The Lake Report has learned.
He announced his resignation in a letter addressed to the town clerk and other councillors on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
Ruller confirmed he’s leaving municipal politics when contacted by The Lake Report last Thursday.
His resignation is effective immediately and he will not be at future council meetings, he said.
Ruller’s decision to resign was made with mixed emotions, he said in the letter.
“The role of a municipal councillor is incredibly demanding, and with recent changes in my professional life, I will no longer be able to continue in this role,” he said.
During a special council meeting on Tuesday, a vacancy on council was declared.
Chief administrative officer Bruce Zvaniga said there will be a second special council meeting scheduled to further discuss the vacancy.
Coun. Erwin Wiens confirmed with staff that there is a 60-day limit for council to find a replacement via appointment or pass a bylaw requiring a by-election.
“You have 60 days to get to that decision,” Zvaniga said.
During Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting, Coun. Gary Burroughs said Ruller will be missed, adding that having nine council members is a negative.
He urged the vacancy be filled quickly.
The lord mayor said the meeting will be called as soon as possible.
Last Wednesday, the city of Brampton announced Ruller’s appointment in a media release.
He was previously NOTL’s fire chief and left that job in February 2022 to become a platoon chief in Brampton.
He subsequently was acting deputy fire chief for the city prior to his promotion this week.
After an extensive recruitment process, his appointment was confirmed at a council meeting Wednesday, the release said.
“I’ve had the opportunity now to work with the city of Brampton for a little over two and a half years and I think this is an exciting role, to lead an organization that has a tremendous amount of committed individuals,” Ruller told The Lake Report.
He was elected to NOTL council in the 2022 municipal election, when he received 8.18 per cent of the votes for town councillor, finishing sixth in the polls.
The decision to step down from council was part of a natural career progression for him, Ruller said.
“It’s a demanding position and council itself is also a fairly demanding role in this community,” he said, adding that it would be challenging to take on both careers.
Ruller will continue to serve the community as a volunteer firefighter and in other capacities, he said. He has no plans to move from Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Before his time as councillor, Ruller served as fire chief in NOTL from 2020 to 2022.
Brampton’s announcement cited Ruller’s service as acting deputy fire chief since 2022, along with his time as fire chief in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Ruller said he does not know what will be done about the vacancy.
In 2020, after former Coun. Stuart McCormack resigned, Sandra O’Connor — who had finished ninth in the polling for eight council positions in the 2018 municipal election — was appointed to fulfil the vacancy.
Allan Bisback was the ninth-place finisher in the 2022 council election, finishing 66 votes behind Maria Mavridis.
Bisback could not be reached for comment, so it’s not known if he is interested in being appointed to finish the council term.
