City of Busselton Mayor Grant Henley has accepted the resignation of CEO Mike Archer who will be taking on the role of CEO for Shellharbour City Council in NSW.
Wishing Mr Archer well, Mayor Henley thanked him for his almost 12 years of dedicated service and his invaluable leadership during a period of significant growth and development for the community and the organisation.
“Mike has successfully led the organisation over many years, working collaboratively with Council, community, and staff to deliver the infrastructure necessary to support our growing community, and overseeing the transition from a Shire to a prosperous regional City Council.
He has also delivered on Council’s vision of being the Events Capital of WA, supporting a robust tourism industry and economy.
More recently he has led the City through the many unprecedented challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating his leadership.”
“Mike’s passion, energy and enthusiasm for local government, and his commitment to ensuring the City of Busselton is a great place to live, to visit and to invest in has been remarkable. We thank him for all that he has achieved and congratulate him as he takes on an exciting new role.”
Mr Archer started as CEO in August 2010 and has overseen a period of extensive capital growth aimed at meeting the needs of current and future residents.
Key achievements include redevelopment and activation of the Busselton foreshore, development of the Dunsborough and Yallingup foreshores, expansion of the Busselton Margaret River Regional Airport to accommodate expanded FIFO services and regular passenger flights to and from Melbourne, redevelopment of the City Administration Centre, the upgrading of numerous sporting facilities and development of an industry recognised Sport and Recreation Facilities Strategy to guide future planning, progression of a performing arts and convention centre to construction, and significant upgrades to the City’s road network including improving the standard of rural roads.
Mayor Henley said that over the last 12 years the municipality has grown from some 27,000 people to just over 40,000, and is considered one of the most desirable places to live in the state.
“Mike has been instrumental in the development of robust asset management and long term financial planning to support this growth, with the Council well positioned as it looks to the future,” the mayor said.
Mr Archer thanked Mayor Henley and the Council for the opportunity to lead the organisation through such a transformative and exciting period, and for the Council’s commitment to a vision which has seen the City of Busselton continue to grow and prosper.
“It has been my absolute pleasure to serve the City of Busselton community and its successive Councils, and I am very proud of our collective achievements. The City of Busselton has a very engaged community and I have enjoyed working with many wonderful community groups to achieve positive outcomes. In particular seeing families, locals and visitors alike, enjoying the City’s foreshores brings me great joy, seeing the dream of regular passenger flights to Melbourne become a reality, after the hard work of many people, is something I will cherish.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the City and, after nearly 12 years of service, feel now is the right time to move on to new challenges. The City of Busselton is in a strong financial position, with an asset portfolio of over one billion dollars and significant cash backed reserves, which I am extremely proud of. “I would like to recognise the staff of the City of Busselton who commit themselves every day to the delivery of high quality services to the community. I am extremely grateful to have worked alongside so many dedicated and professional people over my time with the City and could not have achieved anything without the support of the senior management team and all of the dedicated Council staff.”
