Worcester city councilors on Tuesday rejected City Manager Eric Batista's proposed encampment ordinance, which would have fined homeless people $25 per infraction for camping in tents, sleeping on streets or sidewalks, or living in vehicles parked 24 consecutive hours in public lots. Councilor Gary Rosen filed a motion, supported by most councilors, sending the broader homelessness strategy back to Batista with instructions to remove the ordinance. Councilor Khrystian King called the measure a "homeless incarceration act" and said the city failed to consult social service experts.
This year's point-in-time count identified 1,187 unhoused people in Worcester County, down from 2,862 last year, against a supply of 197 permanent shelter beds across four shelters.
City Manager Eric Batista sent the City Council an ordinance, for its September 15 meeting, that would prohibit camping, sleeping or lying on public property and bar living in vehicles on public ways or in public parking lots for more than 24 consecutive hours, with a $25-per-day fine for people who remain after a notice to vacate. The ordinance is part of Batista's "Disrupting the Cycle" framework, which pairs enforcement with expanded shelter capacity, a live bed-availability dashboard, and centralized shelter access. Worcester has 197 beds across four permanent year-round shelters, with 136 temporary beds added last winter.
The 2026 Point in Time count identified 1,187 unhoused people in Worcester County, down from the previous year.