Politics & Government
Public Meetings With New Worcester City Manager Batista Set For November, December
The newly hired Worcester city manager will partake in five listening sessions throughout the city.
WORCESTER, MA — Worcester's new city manager will meet with local residents in November and December in a series of listening sessions scheduled at different locations around the city.
The city council voted to hold the five listening sessions on Nov. 15 after voting 8-3 to hire Batista, who has been serving as the acting city manager since June.
The series of community conversations are being held in place of a nationwide search for a city manager. The council voted to forgo the search and hire Batista, but the search process would've involved public meetings with candidates for the job — similar to ones held earlier this year during the superintendent search.
During the meetings, Batista will talk about why he wants to be the city manager and his priorities while leading the city. Batista has been a city hall employee since 2012, and worked in a variety of roles for former managers Michael O'Brien and Ed Augustus Jr. He was promoted in September 2021 to become an assistant city manager, and also recently served as the interim chief diversity officer.
Here's the schedule of community conversations with Batista in chronological order:
- District 2 — Nov. 30, 5:30 p.m. at North High School, 140 Harrington Way
- District 3 — Dec. 5, Worcester Senior Center, 128 Providence St.
- District 1 — Dec. 8, Unitarian Universalist Church, 90 Holden St.
- District 5 — Dec. 12, Christ the King Catholic Church, 1052 Pleasant St.
- District 4 — Dec. 14, Belmont A.M.E. Zion Church, 55 Illinois St.
Residents can also attend any of the forums virtually. Find Zoom information on the city website.
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