WORCESTER—A proposed contract that would boost City Manager Eric Batista’s salary above $300,000 sparked debate among elected officials and residents, raising questions about pay equity and performance metrics in New England’s second-largest city.
The City Council delayed voting on the contract during its last meeting, rescheduling their discussion for Dec. 10.
Mayor Joe Petty indicated that councilors will convene in executive session before public discussion resumes.
The proposed contract, if approved, would take effect Dec. 31, 2024, and expire Dec. 31, 2027.
Under the new contract, Batista’s base salary would rise from his current $275,000 to $293,868 by year’s end, with subsequent increases to $305,223 in July 2025 and $314,080 in July 2026.
A provision requires Batista’s salary to exceed that of the next highest-paid city official by $10,000, which is currently Worcester Public School Superintendent Rachel Monárrez, who earned $268,754 in 2023.
The contract modifications include doubling Batista’s severance period from six to 12 months and replacing his city-supplied vehicle benefit with a $1,500 monthly stipend for vehicle-related expenses.
Sue Mailman, a member of the School Committee, questioned the proposed automatic salary differential.
“This item of the city manager making $10,000 more than the next highest paid person is arbitrary,” she said. “It strikes me that the council would not want to give away their power to set the city manager’s salary by giving that power to the School Committee.”
Nicole Apostola, a Worcester resident, raised concerns about the salary hierarchy between city departments.
“If this contract goes through, that means that the city manager would make more money than the superintendent who has a larger budget and more employees,” she said. “Please talk to an employment attorney about this clause.”
The proposed salary increase comes amid broader discussions about public sector compensation across Massachusetts. In Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu currently earns $207,000, with an increase to $250,000 planned for 2026. Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang receives $318,000 annually.
Worcester’s municipal payroll data from 2023 reveals 69 city employees earned more than $200,000, with the police department accounting for 61 of those positions. Former Police Chief Steven Sargent topped the list at $276,639, followed by Interim Police Chief Paul Saucier at $254,828.
Critics point to the absence of measurable performance goals for Batista, a standard practice for previous city managers.
“The city council needs to set clear, measurable goals for the city manager,” Apostola noted. “This body has not set any actual goals to evaluate a city manager since the days of Mike O’Brien, and for the most part he was setting those goals for himself.”
Worcester resident David Webb said: “Worcester isn’t safe, it isn’t organized, it certainly isn’t well managed. It just keeps the powerful powerful.”
Boston’s highest-paid employees in 2023 included Police Lieutenant Stanley Demesmin at $426,425 and Police Captain Haseen Hosein at $408,826. Nearly 70 Boston city employees earned more than $300,000, primarily consisting of high-ranking police officers and firefighters.
As for Worcester, the city’s overall municipal workforce grew slightly in 2023, with 8,017 employees earning over $523 million collectively — a 9.3% increase from 2022’s $487 million payroll. While the fire department saw a decrease in gross pay from $47 million to $46.5 million, the police department’s gross pay increased from $63.6 million to $65.6 million.
Matt Olszewski is a freelance content and news writer based in Boston, MA. In his free time, Matt enjoys running, hiking or skiing. Matt just graduated with his MPH from Tufts University. He can be reached at mattoskier@gmail.com
