Councilor Satya Mitra asked City Manager Eric Batista to provide a report outlining how his office handles council requests and to submit quarterly updates on the status of council orders adopted during the previous three months.
WORCESTER — The Worcester City Council voted Tuesday to seek greater clarity on how council-approved orders are handled by the city administration, approving two orders calling for more transparency and tracking in the process.
At its Jan. 20 meeting — the second session of the newly elected council — Councilor Satya Mitra requested that the council and city administration re-examine how resolutions, reports and ordinances approved by the council are processed by City Manager Eric Batista and city staff.
Mitra’s orders ask Batista to provide a report outlining how his office handles council requests and to submit quarterly updates on the status of council orders adopted during the previous three months.
“We need to be more practical,” Mitra said, referring to Batista’s earlier comment that roughly 1,500 council orders are currently considered “active.” “If we come here every week, and on the average have three orders or four orders, we’re giving you about 40 orders a week… that’s 2,000 orders for 50 weeks. That’s overwhelming.”
Mitra said he would like to see a tracking system that allows councilors and residents to follow the progress of individual orders, along with a clearer understanding of how many requests the administration can realistically handle at one time. He also raised the possibility of placing limits on how many orders are submitted each week.
“It looks to me like it’s overwhelming to have that many orders to process and the people probably don’t know how it’s getting processed,” Mitra said. “I thought maybe you could let us know how your process is, so that we councilors know, ‘Do we need to make a change?’”
Batista said that when responding to council orders, he typically consults with the councilor who introduced the request to clarify how they would like it handled. In some cases, he said, the councilor is seeking an answer or explanation that does not require a formal written report.
Handling of reports varies depending on the request, Batista said. Some require comprehensive study by administrative staff, while others are addressed through email or direct conversation.
“More often than not, some of these orders that are coming forward are answered through just a conversation,” Batista said. “A report can be a simple paragraph, but should I be submitting just a paragraph to the council? I don’t know.”
Council Vice Chair Khrystian King noted that the issue extends beyond the city manager’s office and involves city departments and employees more broadly. He proposed amending the motion to reflect that.
“We want to include the multiple departments and divisions across the city as part of this,” King said.
Mitra said he is seeking a clearer way for both councilors and the public to understand how orders move through the system.
“We’re working here for the residents,” he said. “I think people will be happy to know the process. I think that’s what they are looking for. I think…let’s be transparent on that.”
Public speakers earlier in the meeting echoed concerns about council orders that appear to stall or never return for action.
“I always wondered about that,” resident Idella Hazzard said. “Whether we are wasting our time standing before you, making these requests, giving our opinions, and taking our time out of our evening to come and speak before you.”
“What do you actually pass?” resident Gary Hunter asked. “Everything is sent to committee. I, as a civilian, never hear back what happened in the committee. If it is sent to the administration, I never hear back what happened with the reports. I would like a more open discussion.”
Resident and journalist Tom Marino praised Mitra for raising the issue and cited the Department of Justice report on the Worcester Police Department, which has appeared on council agendas as “tabled” since May 2025.
“Is anyone going to take responsibility for anything, ever?” Marino asked.
Resident Natalie Gibson said she submitted a similar request to the council in September 2024.
“It went to MLO, and I’ve heard nothing since,” she said. “Many orders, as people have said, as well as mine, have gone to the city manager, and we’ve never heard anything about them. That’s what I want to know. What’s happening to our orders once they get to him?”
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