Mr Palmer said to avoid any conflicts of interest and to focus on being a full-time mayor for now, he will step down and make way for a new president at the chamber’s annual general meeting in November.

“The role of the business chamber is to advocate on behalf of the business community and often that means doing so with all levels of government,” he said.

“I can’t do that as mayor. It think, and the board agreed, it would be a conflict of interest.”

Mr Palmer, who has been the mayoral seat for one month, took over as president from Denise Sharp in January 2016.

He has been part of the chamber for three years, joining when he was manager of Greater Bank’s Nelson Bay and Salamander Bay branches.

Mr Palmer said he was proud of the chamber’s achievements during his time as president, which has included tripling membership.

“We reinvigorated Tastes at the Bay and the country music festival, which is interesting because at the start I was questioning if they were something a business chamber should be part of,” he said.

“We’ve formed a great relationship with Destination Port Stephens in the past 18 months and have just moved into the same building with them. 

“I’m really excited to see the two organisations work together going into the future.”

Mr Palmer said he was also proud of attendance numbers to chamber events, saying it had to be one of the “most engaged chambers in NSW”.

The last three events have attracted more than 100 people each.

Mr Palmer said prospective chamber president nominees needed to take the role seriously, and while full-on at times, had its rewards.

“Being part of the chamber has certainly put me on the path I am on now,” he said. “If you had of asked me three years ago where I’d be now, I couldn’t have imagined this.”

The chamber’s AGM is scheduled for November 23. Nominations for positions close seven days before.