22News | Tuesday, 19 June 2012 | By Christine Lee

BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The Senate shot down a proposal Tuesday that would create a Springfield-like Control Board to take over financial management of Boston’s transit authority, the MBTA. Senator Gale Candaras (D-Wilbraham) announced the amendment as the Senate debated a $51 million dollar bailout bill to save the T from fare hikes and service cuts.

“It is true in corporate America, it is true with professional sports teams, when the team you’ve fielded isn’t getting the job done you have to do something different, you have to put a different team on the field,” said Candaras.

The amendment had bipartisan support and was championed by two western Massachusetts lawmakers who modeled the proposal after Springfield’s independent Control Board, which helped the city get its finances under control from 2004 to 2009.

“It is not insignificant that two of the members who are sponsors of this legislation represent the City of Springfield, which when it found itself in crisis, benefited from a control board that returned it to a path of better sustainability,” said Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester).

Candaras said Massachusetts spends $1 billion a year subsidizing the T and this is the third time since 2000 that the Legislature has been called upon to bail them out – Using money that could go to regional transportation authorities, like the PVTA.

“Anytime money is not necessarily being spent wisely and money is being thrown at a problem rather than coming up with some sort of fix to it, then yeah, you can make an argument that there’s tax money that’s being taken away from other regions of the state. Absolutely,” said Sen. James Welch (D-West Springfield).

Other lawmakers told 22 News privately that while an MBTA Control Board wouldn’t be approved, the Senate would likely pass other measures to make the T more accountable.