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    • Worcester City Council defers action on tax classification, Batista agreement
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    Worcester City Council defers action on tax classification, Batista agreement

    Online Niel Posted on

    WORCESTER — In a relatively quick City Council meeting, aldermen postponed action on the annual tax classification hearing and a vote to advance City Manager Eric D. Batista’s proposed three-year contract.

    Mayor Joseph M. Petty postponed a vote on the the manager’s contract and scheduled an executive session, a session closed to the public, for further contract negotiations with Batista at the next meeting, Dec. 10.

    The Standing Committee on Municipal and Legislative Operations negotiated the proposed contract during its Oct. 24 and Nov. 13 sessions. The committee recommended adopting an order renaming Batista before Tuesday’s meeting.

    If the written contract were to go into effect, Batista’s starting salary would increase 3.7 percent to $293,868, effective Dec. 31. He would then receive a 3.9 percent increase to $305,223 effective July 1, 2025, and a 2.9 percent increase to $314,080 effective July 1, 2025. July 1, 2026.

    District 2 City Councilwoman Candy Mero-Carlson postponed the vote on the tax classification hearing during the pre-Thanksgiving meeting, which was attended by three councilors from a distance — Councilors Thu Nguyen, Morris Bergman and Councilor General and Deputy City Council Chrystian King chair.

    Although the manager’s proposed contract was not voted on Tuesday, certain provisions of the proposal received criticism from some members of the public.

    Batista’s annual base salary would be $10,000 above the annual base salary of the next highest paid city employee, including Worcester Public Schools employees. There would be a $1,500 monthly stipend, minus all deductions for the cost of Batista’s personal vehicle, and the furlough period would be increased from six to 12 months.

    During the public comment period, Nicole Apostola, a longtime city blogger, called to ask the City Council to consult with an employment attorney about the $10,000 base salary provision — if conflicted with the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act because it would give Batista a higher salary than Superintendent Rachel H. Monárrez. Apostola said a man would thus make more than a woman, even though Monárrez manages more employees.

    Apostola said the City Council should also set clear and measurable goals for the manager, that the city not pay for the use of Batista’s personal vehicle and that he not have a one-year severance pay after being employed for two years.

    Two regular critics of Batista also spoke about the contract.

    David Webb, a local progressive activist who has declared his intention to run for City Council and at the victim of an attack Last week, outside the City Council chamber, he used the contract article to fault Batista’s response to the attack, as well as his overall management of the city.

    “If you addressed systemic issues instead of social media posts, maybe things would actually get better around here,” Webb said. “The terms required to extend this contract tell us you don’t even want this responsibility. If you need more than 300,000 reasons to help us, then maybe Worcester should take this opportunity to do what it should have done in the first place — a real search (for the city manager.)”

    Bruce Hoffner, owner of Lincoln Auto & Truck, criticized Batista. He said the manager was doing “a bad job” and got into a back-and-forth with Mayor Joseph M. Petty, who called Hoffner out of order and cut off his microphone.

    Parking exemptions and tree protection

    The City Council also unanimously approved an order from Ward 5 Alderman Etel Haxhiaj asking Batista to prepare draft ordinances to advance two recommendations stemming from the Worcester Now|Next plan, which concerns the long-term future of the city.

    Haxhiaj called for ordinances that would eliminate or reduce minimum parking requirements and reform tree protection requirements for all developments.

    Haxhiaj said the ordinance is not intended to be the final vote on eliminating or reducing minimum parking requirements for new construction, which is what the Now|Next plan recommends.

    “I’m not asking you all to vote on the merits of these two recommendations, I’m asking that the city manager bring them forward so we can discuss them,” Haxhiaj said.

    Ward 3 Councilman George Russell asked that the report include more options for council action so the city does not endorse a particular approach to parking minimums and allow the council to deliberate.

    King said zoning reform is necessary for Worcester to address the housing crisis, but said there are parking challenges in areas like the Canal District, where residents rely on their cars for transportation. He said the council needs to consider the current needs of working-class residents as it transits the zoning.

    King asked for a report on what the city is doing to address the hardships of Canal District residents.

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