Bahne also said that the city as a whole is not running very smoothly. "A number of departments have performed very poorly over the last years," he said.

While Green acknowledged that there are obviously groups which aren't happy with the performance of the city manager, "I think that the general public is in fact very satisfied with the city manager," she said.

Healy said that he was not surprised by the comments made at the meeting. "I think it was interesting to listen," he said, "I'm not sure that it's dramatically different than some of the things that I've heard in the past."

The public evaluation of the city manager has been surrounded by controversy over the significance of the written evaluations. Some have said the surveys could potentially be used as political tool to justify whatever decision the council may come to on contract renewal Green said Cantabrigians are participatory by nature.

"I can't imagine Cambridge not having something like this process," Green said. By the same token she added that she felt the fact not many new people came out to speak today means that people are happy with the manager.

Healy, who said that this public evaluation process was unprecedented and "a lot more extended and protracted than most," said he is growing weary of the evaluation. "I'll be, happy when it's over," he said.