The Worcester City Council gave City Manager Eric Batista his evaluation Tuesday night after his first official six months on the job.

Batista received both praise and criticism from councilors for his job performance so far. Councilor Thu Nguyen gave him an unsatisfactory, “needs improvement” grade.

“As the city manager is hired to execute the vision of the elected city council, and I am disappointed by this outrightly on its own, which is that only 25% of my orders have been done,” Nguyen said.

On the other hand, Mayor Joe Petty had nothing but praise for the job Batista and his staff are doing for the city.

“You’re very respectful to anyone who comes to see you, both in public and in private, with grace and maturity,” Petty said to Batista. “You’re very pragmatic, which I love as a leader, and very thoughtful, so I think you’re off and running. The city is more stable I think, and it’s no question in my mind that it’s a city that’s going in the right direction.”

Overall, most the comments from the council were positive. Batista said he and his team are committed to making the city better.

Batista was promoted to city manager in December after holding the acting city manager position since June 2022.