Council approves capital transfers, supplemental appropriations and tree‑committee appointments

The Braintree Town Council on Tuesday approved a package of capital transfers and supplemental appropriations and confirmed a slate of appointments to a newly established tree committee, with all motions passing unanimously.

Finance Director Mike Desmond told the council five capital motions before the body were funded from retained earnings in enterprise funds and totaled $3.6 million. The package includes a $3 million investment in water‑distribution upgrades scheduled to begin late this summer; $200,000 toward Ricciardi Reservoir pump replacement (costs to be shared with Randolph and Holbrook); $200,000 for a sewer‑system modeling study; $178,000 from the stormwater fund for catchment investigations; and $41,000 from the golf fund for a walk‑behind aerator.

“These items are funded via retained earnings in the respective funds,” Desmond said, adding that the motions form part of the larger capital improvement plan filed earlier by the mayor.

The council also approved a motion rescinding roughly $3.9 million in prior capital authorizations that are no longer needed, a cleanup item the finance office…