The Town of Coupeville may be small, but it gets a lot accomplished, said Mayor Molly Hughes during her first-ever State of the Town Address last week.

“I have spent my time ensuring people know we have a tiny, tiny, mighty staff,” she said. “We have everything a large city has.”

With 11 regular employees, Coupeville ensures the municipalities’ day-to-day operations are done while playing host to four of Island County’s largest employers — the hospital, county, school district and Careage of Whidbey.

In her first eight months in office, Hughes said the town has gone through some personnel changes.

Some of those changes include letting go the previous planning director, the retirement of several longtime employees and the switch to Chris Garden as the new Coupeville Marshal.

“I expect it’s normal with big changes (like a new mayor),” Hughes said. “We’ve hired some people we’re really excited about.”

While settling into her new role as mayor, Hughes said she been able to complete some ongoing projects started by previous Mayor Nancy Conard, such as the Madrona Way project.

“We’re very happy to have that job done,” she said.

The town has also been working through the process of increasing its sewer rates and implementing a new stormwater utility charge.

Those changes were slated for approval by the council just after deadline and are anticipated to start Oct. 1.

It’s also been a busy year for the planning department.

Hughes said Town Planner Owen Dennison has processed 79 permits this year including ones for five single family homes.

As some of the larger projects near an end, Hughes said staff will start looking at projects with more teeth in them, ones that require finding funding and more research.

Coupeville’s economy continues to strengthen each year.

Hughes said the town’s sales tax is up 10 percent in the first eight months of 2016 and up 51 percent with taxes from the hospital’s construction project.

The hotel/motel tax is also up 5 percent, 25 percent with the addition of Air BnB compensation.

Some things Hughes said she expects to accomplish in the coming year are drafting a new sign code, updating the comprehensive plan and hiring a town engineer, which was previously a contracted position.

“We definitely have enough jobs to keep them busy,” she said.

While Hughes is new to the position and some of her tasks have required a learning curve, she said she’s enjoying her time as mayor.

“I can’t tell you how much I love this job,” she said.