CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct information about Nick Ruller’s time living in Toronto, during which he did not continue volunteering with the NOTL fire department. As well, former interim CAO Bruce Zvaniga served in the role for a total of 18 months.
Former councillor and fire chief Nick Ruller (last name pronounced like the measuring stick) has returned to Niagara-on-the-Lake as the town’s new chief administrative officer.
He officially took over the role Monday, succeeding interim CAO Bruce Zvaniga, who held the post for the past 18 months.
Ruller, who spent the last year and a half as Brampton’s fire chief, said the opportunity to come home and take on the town’s top unelected position was a major draw. Before that, he spent two years as a NOTL councillor before stepping down.
He said he distanced himself from the administrative side while on council, but had an interest while in Brampton. He eventually reached out to the recruiter doing the hiring for the town. He said it was a “typical process” that involved a resume.
Council approved the decision to hire him. It was a unanimous decision from the hiring committee.
In an interview, Ruller was careful but confident. He said he plans to spend his first few weeks as CAO listening, learning and building relationships.
“This week is really just about gathering myself up to speed on current issues,” he said. “In the next few weeks, I want to spend a bit of time with interim CAO Zvaniga just as part of the transition.”
He was tight-lipped about specific plans but emphasized the importance of collaboration with council and community groups.
Given his deep roots in the community — Ruller spent his school years in Virgil and much of his adult life in Niagara-on-the-Lake — he sees his familiarity as an advantage.
“It’s provided me with an opportunity to get situated very quickly,” he said. “Because I have familiarity with the organization and some of the existing staff.”
He acknowledged the job comes with challenges, noting that the town’s relatively small team can make it difficult to respond to all the demands placed on them.
It might be more accurate to say he is a firefighter by calling. He joined the NOTL Fire Department as a volunteer in 1999, then moved to Toronto in 2001 to join Toronto Fire Services.
In 2013, he returned to NOTL, where he served as a firefighter. In 2017, he was NOTL deputy fire chief and, beginning in 2019, became the town’s fire chief. He was elected to town council in 2022 and served until 2024, when he resigned to take the job in Brampton.
Although he continued to volunteer as a firefighter over the past three and a half years — even while serving as a councillor and working in Brampton — he officially resigned from the role just weeks before becoming CAO.
Ruller admitted he “definitely did not” imagine ending up as a CAO after decades as a firefighter. But he sees a natural link between both roles.
“You’re serving a community,” he said.
He credited his father for instilling in him that sense of public service: “He has a bit of that approach to community service.”
Though no stranger to responsibility as a firefighter, the new CAO said this role brings a broader scope.
“This is different in the sense of the shift to the broader responsibility to the municipality,” he said. “There’s the financial responsibility and talking about high-performing teams … This is just broader responsibility.”
That sense of responsibility extends to his personal life. Ruller, a father of four — twin girls and two boys — said his free time is limited, but when he has it, he spends it with his family. His children play baseball and softball, and he enjoys cheering them on.
But more than anything, he said, it’s his love for the community that drives him, even on difficult days.
“It’s a beautiful community, it has a lot to offer,” he said. “There’s a lot of good that happens on the day-to-day. Sometimes it’s keeping that perspective.”
daniel@niagaranow.com
