Braintree council forwards FY2027 council budget request after restoring consultant, modest tech and reserve funds

The Town of Braintree council unanimously adopted its FY2027 council budget request Tuesday, forwarding recommendations to the mayor that would restore a $30,000 consultant line, provide $2,500 for council technology and request a $100,000 reserve account.

Councilor Bridal explained the consultant line historically funded external counsel and other consulting help and argued restoring it would help the council avoid delays associated with routing requests through the mayor's office. She said the $2,500 technology allocation would roughly cover two iPads and reduce paper use, and proposed a $100,000 reserve account as a modest step toward rebuilding rainy-day funds.

"The council actually cannot add, add any dollars to the budget," Bridal said, noting the council is making a request to the mayor for consideration in the mayor's proposed budget. Multiple councilors spoke in favor of restoring the consultant line and modest technology funding; the council voted to adopt the proposed council budget request and will submit it to the mayor for her consideration.

Why it matters: The council's request restores limited capacity for the legislative branch to obtain outside expertise and modestly improves technology for councillors; final funding is subject to the mayor's proposed budget and the town meeting/budget adoption process.