By: By Alex Guardiola
Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy
As we ease into spring in Worcester and begin to clean our yards after the winter, enjoy some games at Polar Park, play some outdoor basketball, maybe play some golf at our favorite local golf courses, or take a walk or hike on our favorite central Massachusetts trails; it is important to remember what is happening on our Federal, State, and local government levels.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both announced that they both will again be running for reelection in 2024. Our newly elected Governor, Maura Healey, and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll have been touring the Commonwealth and have already put out their first Gubernatorial proposed budget that has been sent to the House of Representatives and is currently being debated.
In the city of Worcester: it is an election year. While nomination papers are not due back to the City Clerk until May 31, this is already shaping up to be a highly contested City Council election that continues to emphasize the divisiveness of the current makeup of the Council and the City. There are currently 14 candidates running for 6 at-large seats. (It is important to remember that candidates for Mayor must also run at-large.) Of those 14 candidates there are 6 incumbents including Mayor Joseph Petty running at this time. The District 1 and District 4 seats are, to date, going to be vacant as Sean Rose (D1) and Sarai Rivera (D4) have indicated that they will not be seeking reelection. There are now five new candidates for each of those districts. While there are a number of candidates who have already pulled nomination papers for at-large and district council seats, it certainly does not mean that others will not throw their hat in the ring making this one of the most interesting elections in recent years.
Divisive Votes on the Council
Appointment of City Manager Batista
In March of 2022, former City Manager Ed Augustus announced that he would be stepping down at the end of May appointing then Assistant City Manager Eric Batista the interim City Manager position while the City Council was deciding on whether to move forward with Batista or to do a nationwide search. There was much debate as to whether to appoint a home-grown person in Batista who has been working in the City Manager’s office for 10 years under both former City Managers Mike O’Brien and Ed Augustus or to bring someone in from outside of city hall.
It was abundantly clear that there was a line drawn on the council floor as to who supported the hiring of the first Latino City Manager in Batista, starting with the mayor, and who wanted to do a nationwide search. I would be remiss if I did not mention that since 1984 when city residents voted to change the city charter to establish the City Manager, Mayor, and Council form of Plan E government, there has only been one nationwide search with the appointment of former City Manager Hoover. For anyone who knows Worcester’s history, that did not work out well for the city with the Council voting to remove Hoover from the City Manager’s office.
In a heated debate bringing almost two hours of public testimony, the Mayor moved to suspend the nationwide search in favor of appointing Batista as the permanent City Manager almost six months after he had been doing the job that some on the council wanted him to apply and interview for. In the end, the vote was narrowly approved 6-5. At-Large Councilors Donna Colorio, Kate Toomey and Moe Bergman, along with District 3 Councilor George Russell and District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson, joined Mayor Joe Petty suspending the nationwide search and appointing the first Latino City Manager in Worcester’s history.
Inclusionary Zoning
Another highly debated and divisive vote on the city council was Inclusionary Zoning. Inclusionary Zoning in short, is a zoning ordinance that is used by municipalities to require new multifamily developments to incorporate a small percentage of affordable housing in each project, or to at least pay a fee to a city’s affordable housing trust fund so that other developers can access local subsidies to build income-reserved units.
Here in Worcester, there is no question that we need more affordable housing in order to house our growing population and workforce. The City Manager and his administration proposed an ordinance that would require new developments of 12 units or more to be ‘income reserved’ for 30 years and it also required that at least 15% of the units would have to be restricted to households at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), or 10% of the units would have to be restricted to households at or below 60% of the AMI, or a combination thereof.
Had the council come together six months ago and agreed that the ordinance proposed by the City administration was the best option for constructing new affordable housing while at the same time not cooling development, there would be hundreds of new affordable units already in the pipeline. Unfortunately, the City Councilors who did not support the City Administration’s recommendation stalled the vote, added new proposed amendments, and made city residents miss out on opportunities to capture new affordable housing with the ordinance. In the end the City’s administration had the needed eight votes to pass the proposed Inclusionary Zoning ordinance.
Ironically, not one person spoke at the inclusionary zoning hearings about the Franklin Street housing project that used a similar model as the City’s Inclusionary Zoning proposal. That project was unanimously approved and praised at the end of March by this very same council.
As background, while the project was not subject to the inclusionary zoning rule, city administrators had negotiated 10% of the units be affordable for the duration of the tax increment exemption (TIE) that was awarded. As part of the TIE the Worcester-based developer included 36 income-restricted apartments for residents earning 60% or less of the AMI as part of their $130 million project.
Be assured that Inclusionary Zoning will be part of this year’s campaign trail rhetoric. Those who did not support the city’s recommendation will use it as political leverage touting that this ordinance is not restrictive enough, when in reality we now have an ordinance that guarantees more affordable housing or more funds into the affordable housing trust.
Other things to watch for in the near future
Governor Healy will begin the process of creating her administration’s economic development plan. The Governor, who has placed some heavy focus on increasing the state’s competitive edge, has tasked the Executive Office of Economic Development to create a sweeping policy. This new policy will have to undergo a legislative hearing and be made available online by the end of the year.
Due to the growing concerns with the MBTA, Governor Healy has replaced three MBTA Board Members including the chair with former MBTA General Manager and Massachusetts Port Authority CEO Thomas Glynn, former Senator Thomas McGee, and local banker Eric Goodwine of Rockland Trust. Hopefully these new appointees will continue the momentum we have had here in Worcester as the Union Station center platform project is slated to be completed this winter.
