The councillor with the most votes serves as deputy mayor, while the second and third-place finishers chair the council's two primary committees, community services and public works and engineering.
[2] As in other Ontario municipalities, the council may choose to fill a vacancy either by scheduling a by-election or by directly appointing a new councillor to the seat.
[3] Due to the city's at-large electoral system, if the appointment process is chosen then the first right to fill a vacant seat is generally offered to the next highest unelected finisher in the previous municipal election.
For instance, when Peter Chirico resigned from council in May 2012, Sarah Campbell, the eleventh-place candidate in the 2010 election, was appointed to his seat.
[5] Sean Lawlor succeeded him as deputy mayor, and Sarah Campbell, a former city councillor who narrowly lost re-election in 2010, was reappointed to fill the vacant council seat.