WORCESTER—Former President Harry S. Truman didn’t do public executives any favor with his admonition that “the buck stops here,” but it’s a fact of life for people in seats as hot as the city manager for a place such as Worcester.
In its annual rite of review, the city council this week weighed in on how well Eric D. Batista is doing in his role as city manager — a review that featured the typical argot of such events, as performative a spectacle of public governance as still remains in the third decade of the 21st century.
Batista took his in the long line of city managers whose year was evaluated through the council’s lens, and overall it would be fair to categorize the reviews as stellar. But life and people are imperfect, so as good as the news was, councilors still offered the manager — in the second year of a two-year contract that expires in December — plenty of advice on areas for improvement.
An early supporter of the manager’s dating back to his days as interim, Mayor Joseph M. Petty was most effusive in his praise of Batista’s performance.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you love this city,” a smiling Petty said in his remarks during the review. “You grew up in this city, you care about it, and it shows every single day. It shows to the people of Worcester.”
Petty concluded his remarks with a nod to the ongoing struggle to get some of the city’s union contracts tied up, an issue At-Large Morris A. Bergman cited as a reason that nearly convinced him to lower the grade he gave Batista on his evaluation.
Though Bergman lauded the manager for the overall sound financial footing he’s established for the city, he said some city departments were waiting too long for new bargaining agreements to be completed.
“When it comes to union contracts, we really should not be going beyond a year these contracts,” Bergman said, asserting also that at least one department has been almost four years without a new deal.
Bergman said the contracts issue nearly prompted him to lower his grade for the manager from “meets expectations” to “needs improvement.”
Generally, though, the tone was positive, with councilors praising Batista on larger issues while also suggesting areas for improvement.
At-Large Councilor Khrystian King, for example, said he appreciated Batista’s willingness to answer hard questions during council sessions, but also suggested enhancements to the way the city manager analyzes the budget.
At-Large Councilor Thu Nguyen, who was fiercely critical of the manager in their 2023 evaluation (rating Batista in most categories as “unsatisfactory” or “needs improvement”), seemed happier with the manager’s performance this year.
Citing his decisions to work on expanding homeless beds in the shelter at the former Registry of Motor Vehicles building on Main Street and also to spend American Rescue Plan Act (aka ARPA) money on restoring state cuts to a youth program budget, Nguyen said “these are moments where I experience the manager leading with his values and a clear route of decision-making for our community’s benefits.”
Batista first took over as acting city manager in April 2022 to succeed the departing Edward M. Augustus Jr., and was subsequently appointed permanent manager in November of that year. His contract called for a salary of $275,000 per year, and includes a six-month severance package if he were to be removed from office.
The city council declined to take on a nationwide search for Augustus’s replacement, instead tapping Batista for the permanent gig in what was labeled an “historic” by At-Large Councilor Kate Toomey at the time, citing the fact that Batista is a long time Worcester resident and the first Latino to serve as city manager.
This year’s review echoed tone and tenor of last year’s, his first in office, when he was praised for his work on the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, improvements to public safety, the continued growth of the city, and his demeanor in dealing with staff and city residents.
Ted Flanagan is a journalist, novelist, and paramedic from central Massachusetts. During his time as a newspaper reporter he covered courts and crime for the Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence and was a general assignment reporter in the Fitchburg Bureau of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. He can be reached at ted@tedflanagan.com
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