The following from the Ontario Municipal Councillor's Guide explains the options for the Town of South Bruce Peninsula for filling the Mayor's seat. Mayor Michi resigned earlier today.

If a municipal council seat becomes vacant, council must declare the council seat vacant at its next meeting. However, if the vacancy is due to the death of a member, the declaration may be made at either of its next two meetings.

A copy of the declaration must be forwarded immediately to an upper-tier council if the declaration is made by a lower-tier and vice versa. Within 60 days of declaring the council seat vacant, council must decide whether to fill the vacancy through a by-election or by appointment for the remainder of the council term.

If an office becomes vacant after March 31 in a regular election year, the seat may only be filled by appointment. A vacancy must be filled unless it occurs within 90 days before voting day of a regular election. If the vacancy occurs within 90 days before a regular election, the municipality is not required to fill the vacancy.

When deciding whether to fill a vacancy through by-election or through appointment, council may wish to consider circumstances such as whether the vacancy is for the head of council or whether the individual holding the office will sit on both the lower-tier and upper-tier councils.

If council decides to appoint a person to a vacant council seat, the appointee must consent to the appointment and must be eligible to hold office. Council decides what process it will use to choose the person it appoints.

If council decides to hold a by-election instead of appointing a person to fill a vacancy, council must pass a by-law to have a by-election. The Municipal Elections Act, 1996, sets out the processes for a municipal by-election. The municipal clerk is responsible for conducting the by-election and fixing nomination day. Voting day is 45 days after nomination day.

Note: in the event of a dual vacancy where a lower-tier council member also sits as a member on the upper-tier council, the lower-tier municipality (not the upper-tier) is required to fill the vacancy (see section 263(2) of the Act).