Worcester’s City Manager Discusses the Cities Encampment Proposal and Winter Preparations

By-Hank Stolz
Graphic-Radio Worcester

Questions, Concerns, Opinions?

Worcester, MA-Worcester City Manager Eric Batista joined Radio Worcester to discuss the city’s proposed approach to encampment violations, the challenges facing outreach workers, and preparations for winter snow removal. The conversation explored how Worcester is working to connect people experiencing homelessness with services while addressing concerns from residents and businesses.

Batista Explains Proposed $25 Encampment Fine

Worcester City Manager Eric Batista appeared on Radio Worcester to discuss several key city initiatives. On the homelessness policy, Batista explained that a proposed $25 fine for encampment violations serves as a civil penalty alternative to arrest, with services offered first and a 72-hour notice period. “The challenge is if you remove any fines from any ordinance, the potential alternative to removing a fine, it’s only arrest. And so, most of our ordinances in the city, if there is a violation and only when there is a violation, then there’s a fine associated with violating that ordinance.”

He noted Boston employs a similar warning-to-fine structure and emphasized the challenge of balancing individual needs with quality-of-life concerns for residents and businesses. “They issue a warning and that warning can lead up to a $300 fine…They initially issued a $25 fine. The city council removed the $25 fine as the initial. So now what it lists, it says that you are issued a warning and that warning, if repeated behavior, can be up to a $300 fine.” The city is working with state officials to refine the proposal following City Council feedback.

He explained what the Quality-of-Life team is facing and that they want to get people the help they need, “I had a conversation with one of our outreach workers that there was an individual who was refusing medical treatment and he had a really, really severe situation with his leg that if the outreach workers did not in some ways coerced or forced or highly encouraged the individual to go seek the treatment, the person could have died in that tent…we took him to the hospital to get the care that they needed because that leg, either one, they could have lost a leg or two, they could have lost their lives.”

Batista detailed operational improvements for winter snow removal, including new wing plows to reduce truck needs, an in-house brine mixing facility, and GPS tracking software for real-time plow monitoring. He addressed contractor shortages affecting the industry statewide and ongoing recruitment efforts.

Related Stories on radioworcester.com –

Khrystian King Opposes Worcester Camping Fine, Calls for More Outreach

Mayor Joe Petty Addresses Toomey Investigation and Worcester Encampment Ordinance

CM Defends Worcester Homelessness Strategy and Proposed Camping Ordinance

explainer sidebar radio worcester topics

What Is Worcester’s Encampment Proposal?

Worcester’s proposed public-camping ordinance is part of City Manager Eric Batista’s broader “Disrupting the Cycle” homelessness strategy, which combines expanded shelter access, better coordination among service providers, and proposed enforcement measures for encampments on public property.

What Would the Ordinance Do?

As originally submitted in September 2026, the proposal would:

Restrict camping on public property, including sleeping or lying on streets, sidewalks, bike paths, and other public spaces.
Restrict living in vehicles on public ways or in public parking lots for more than 24 consecutive hours.
Require outreach before enforcement, with reasonable efforts to offer shelter, treatment, and supportive services.
Provide notice before clearing an encampment, generally described in reporting as up to 72 hours.
Allow a $25 fine for each day a violation continues after a notice to vacate.

Why Has It Sparked Debate?

The administration argues that the proposal would help address unsafe living conditions and connect people with services while responding to concerns about public spaces. Critics question whether fines would penalize people who have nowhere else to go and create additional financial barriers. Councilors also raised concerns that service providers and people experiencing homelessness had not been consulted about the proposed penalty.

Has It Been Approved?

The original proposal was not adopted. On September 22, 2026, the City Council sent the homelessness strategy back to the administration for revisions. GBH reported that the council’s direction included removing the proposed encampment ordinance and incorporating councilors’ feedback. The original $25 fine should therefore be described as a proposed measure, rather than an enacted city policy.

Sources

Editor’s Note-This sidebar describes the original proposal and the documented September 22 council action.

LIVE STREAM
Radio Worcester

CONNECT



RADIO WORCESTER STUDIOS

Summit Street (Behind Polar Park)
Worcester, MA 01610.



LISTENER LINE

774-364-8255



MAIN OFFICE