View the Worcester HandbookCity Government
Worcester City Council
Worcester’s City Council has eleven members: six elected city-wide (“at-large”) and five from neighborhood districts. This hybrid structure dates to the 1985 charter revision that gave Worcester a popularly elected mayor and added district seats. Councilors serve two-year terms, and the Mayor, the top at-large vote-getter for the mayoralty, chairs the Council.
- Sets policy and law by adopting ordinances and resolutions.
- Controls the purse by adopting the city’s annual operating and capital budgets.
- Hires the executive by appointing and overseeing the City Manager.
Council Members
Mayor Joseph M. Petty chairs the Council, with Khrystian E. King serving as Vice Chair. The six at-large councilors are elected by all Worcester voters; the five district councilors each represent two of the city’s ten wards.
Joseph M. Petty
Khrystian E. King
Morris A. Bergman
Satya B. Mitra
Gary Rosen
Kathleen M. Toomey
Tony Economou
Robert A. Bilotta
John P. Fresolo
Luis A. Ojeda
Jose A. Rivera
Individual councilor emails and direct lines are on the city’s “Meet the Councilors” directory at worcesterma.gov.
Meetings & How to Participate
- When: the Council generally meets four Tuesday evenings a month at City Hall, 455 Main Street.
- Agendas & minutes: posted in advance on the city’s OneMeeting portal at worcesterma.gov.
- Public comment & petitions: residents may speak on agenda items and may file a petition (deadline 4:15 p.m. the Thursday before each meeting).
- Watch: meetings are broadcast on the city’s government channel and streamed online.
Public hearings and meetings are where residents shape city decisions.