The Worcester City Council was set to take up a new contract for City Manager Eric Batista during its meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 26, but the item was held until the council’s next meeting on Dec. 10.
Batista should fight for himself and his family in compensation negotiations. He is not to blame here.
The Worcester City Council has three core responsibilities in the absurd governing system in Worcester. Those responsibilities are passing ordinances (which they themselves cannot produce, as they refuse to hire their own attorney), approving the budget (which they cannot meaningfully amend), and hiring and firing the city manager, which includes negotiating contract extensions.
No doubt should exist that the city manager position should be well compensated. The position leads an organization with a nearly $900 million budget and over 8,000 employees. The public pressure and scrutiny that comes with the role of chief executive of a municipality is intense.
City Manager’s Compensation
During 2021, the last full year that former City Manager Ed Augustus served, Batista earned $119,337. In 2022, the year that Augustus resigned from the position, Batista earned $201,459. In 2023, that rose to a salary of $273,939 and a total compensation of $313,723.
The responsibility of the position of city manager compared to an assistant city manager isn’t close. They are worlds apart. A salary increase of 163 percent over three years is meteoric, and it’s about to increase further.
In a report provided to city council, the Committee on Municipal and Legislative Operations recommends a new three-year contract for Batista, from Dec. 31, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2027, with the following salary:
- Effective Dec. 31, 2024: $293,868
- Effective July 1, 2025: $305,223
- Effective July 1, 2026: $314,080
From this year to the end of the contract, Batista will see a salary increase of 14.7 percent over three years.
Batista will earn above those amounts, as he is also entitled to cost-of-living salary increases.
The contract also increases the severance period. The previous contract had a severance period of six months.
Even after the health insurance and other benefits he will earn, that is not his total compensation in the contract.
Batista’s current contract, which expires at the end of 2024, included a city-supplied vehicle. That benefit no longer exists in the contract that begins in 2025. Instead, Batista receives a monthly stipend of $1,500 “for the cost of Mr. Batista’s personal vehicle, including costs of operation, maintenance, repair, and insurance relating to said vehicle.”
Comparisons to Other Cities
Being the Worcester City Manager is a big job. It is not a bigger job than the Mayor of Boston, which has a population 215 percent larger than Worcester, and an operating budget in fiscal year 2025 that is 415 percent larger than Worcester.
The Boston City Council increased compensation for the Mayor of Boston last year, which will reach $250,000 in 2026. Boston City Councilors earn half the mayor’s salary. In Worcester, city councilors are part time and earn just over $36,000.
According to the U.S. Census, the median household income in Boston in 2022 was $89,212.
The mayor of New York City earns a salary of $258,750.
In Cambridge, City Manager Yi-An Huang earns $318,000 in the final year of his current contract, which ends Sept. 5. Cambridge also provides its city manager a vehicle, which is mandated to be electric.
However, Cambridge also has a budget seven percent larger than Worcester, while the population of Cambridge, 118,214, is 43 percent lower than Worcester. The median household income in Cambridge in 2022 was $121,539, 93 percent higher than Worcester.
The median household income in Worcester, $63,011, falls 52nd of the 59 cities in Massachusetts.
Lowell and Medford both have city managers.
The city manager of Cambridge also does not have the clause included in the Worcester City Manager’s contract that mandates he has the highest base salary of any city employee.
Guaranteed $10,000 More Than Any City Employee
The clause that really sends this contract into the absurd is a guarantee that the city will compensate Batista $10,000 over the annual base salary of any single City of Worcester employee.
What?
Let’s be hypothetical.
If the city needed to bring in a medical or high tech expert for several years that would make a substantial impact on the operation of city government for years to come, but the skills needed were rare and the market demanded a $500,000 salary. That city would then be contractually obligated to pay Batista $510,000.
Crazy.
Most interestingly, salary increases require a vote of the city council. Should the majority not approve the salary increase, the city would be open to litigation. No city councilor would do that.
Councilors should make salary adjustment decisions based on the merits. No future city councilor should have their vote nullified.
