How Braintree Mayor-elect Erin Joyce preparing to take office next month

BRAINTREE − Since she won the Nov. 7 mayoral election, Erin Joyce has been meeting with town department heads and reviewing transition reports to prepare for taking office Jan. 2.

"We've been able to meet with almost all of the department heads, and many presented transition plans," Joyce said during an interview Monday. "We want to hit the ground running. We know the budget is going to be tight."

Joyce met with Mayor Charles Kokoros right after the election, and he has been assisting with the transition process.

She also has attended sessions for incoming mayors offered by the Massachusetts Municipal Association and the Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

Joyce said she is still working on staffing decisions for her office, but said she expects it will have the same number of employees as the mayor's office has now.

Tour of Lights: Submit your holiday display

She said she wants more public involvement in the town's budgeting process. In recent years, development of the budget has largely taken place behind closed doors until the mayor presented it to the town council. Under the town charter, the budget must be submitted to the council by May 1.

"People want to have more of a say" in town spending, Joyce said.

Under the town's "strong mayor" charter, the town council can cut the mayor's budget but cannot add to any line item.

Joyce is also working on another transition, winding down her involvement in her engineering company, Joyce Consulting Group P.C., which will continue in business without her.

More: Braintree Planning Board recommends new zoning for multifamily housing, with changes

She and other newly elected town officials will be sworn in at a ceremony starting at 5 p.m. Jan. 2 in the Cahill Auditorium of town hall.

An inaugural ball for Joyce is set for 7 p.m. Jan. 5 at Pontian Society Hall, 120 Bay State Drive. The event is sold out, but another small block of tickets might be released. Tickets are $75 per person.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Braintree Mayor-elect Erin Joyce at work on transition