In a keynote address to a packed Coffs Harbour Chamber breakfast forum last week, City of Coffs Harbour Mayor, Nikki Williams, outlined her vision for the City to become a place that is trumpeted by the people who live there.
“Coffs Harbour has a proud history of entrepreneurship … that’s what we want to see moving forward,” said Mayor Williams.
As the mother-of-triplets, the Mayor said she understood the “competing priorities” that all people face.
“(As a City) we have to prioritise the right things … we don’t have endless buckets of money,” she said.
The Mayor said Coffs Harbour was entering a crucial time strategically, as Council moves toward a Delivery Program for 2026-2030, and positions itself for life after the City is bypassed by the highway.
“Tell us how we can become an investment-friendly town,” she said.
While business owners and operators – many of whom were among the 180-plus chamber meeting – are often time-poor, the Mayor encouraged them to help shape the City’s direction by providing feedback and offering to serve on relevant committees.
She noted the support of the business community – along with that of the City – in the successful staging of the Coffs Coast Carols in the revamped Brelsford Park in December.
“Our business community don’t get the respect that they deserve,” she said.
The Mayor said she would like to see the CBD grow into a “true business district”, to complement the establishment of a “world class precinct at the Jetty”.
“As a Council we need to focus on doing everything that we do to the best of our ability,” she said.
“We want everyone in our community to be our raving fans.”
Mayor Williams talked up the need to work with local regional councils who share the significant challenges of housing and waste management.
Council also needs to be able to “pivot” when uncontrollables like the COVID-19 epidemic present, she said.
“I wish I had the power to please all people all the time … the big thing as a Council is how we say no (when we can’t do everything),” the Mayor said.
The new Council, she said, would make its mark on strategy and policies, but these big picture settings take time to roll-out in a public sense.
“As Councillors it’s very easy to get stuck in the weeds,” she said. “Let’s celebrate what’s so damn good about Coffs Harbour.”
The Mayor said she is looking forward to the results of a community survey on City service levels.
Pitching a focus on “maintenance and renewal”, she said “if you’re going to do something, let’s do it properly”.
Chamber President Ray Smith noted the Mayor’s presentation headlined the group’s first networking event for 2025, and he hoped she would return as a guest speaker in the not-too-distant future to update members on progress.
