SPRINGFIELD - The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority's advisory board this week approved a new three-year contract and $2,000 raise for agency administrator Mary L. MacInnes, a decision opposed by a minority of board members.

The PVTA is a $37.5 million agency and the state's largest regional transit authority, serving 24 cities and towns in Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties.

MacInnes, 58, was hired in October 2006 to lead the publicly funded agency, which had been marred by administrative scandals, questionable accounting practices and spending and procurement problems that prompted a federal corruption probe.

"Everyone was under a shadow of guilt," Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan said.

Sullivan is chairman of the PVTA's advisory board and was among the majority of board members who supported MacInnes' new contract and boost in pay.

MacInnes' starting annual salary under her initial three-year contract was $114,000. She received a nearly $4,000 performance-based raise the following year, but never got a review in 2008.

A $2,000 raise this year will bring her annual salary to $120,000, and she cannot earn a raise in 2010, according to new contract terms.

A 33-year veteran in the transit industry, MacInnes was the former administrator of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority. During her first six months at the PVTA, she was responsible for a management shake-up and has been credited with having brought administrative and financial stability to the organization, which is based in Springfield. Ridership at the PVTA has increased during her tenure.

Northampton mayor's view

While MacInnes pledged to put a greater emphasis on customer service and marketing, she also has had to manage several crises, including the botched transfer of the agency's paratransit service for elderly and disabled riders to a California-based company two years ago, as well as the high-profile death of an elderly passenger.

"I think she's done a very good job cleaning up what was not a good situation down there," said Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins, who sits on the agency's advisory board and approved the new contract Monday.

"The PVTA is probably in a better financial position than it's been in the past 10 years, and I'd have to say that's because there is a professional running it," Sullivan said of MacInnes, who received high marks on her evaluations from the board.

Representatives from Springfield, East Longmeadow and Palmer did not support renewing MacInnes' contract, and that opposition led to some raucous exchanges among board members Monday.

"I felt terrible for the administrator," said Sullivan, who jousted with East Longmeadow Selectboard member James D. Driscoll over MacInnes' performance. "It was really quite bizarre."

Three years ago, MacInnes replaced interim administrator Richard J. Kos, a lawyer and former Chicopee mayor who was named to the post after ex-director Gary A. Shepard was placed on paid administrative leave and ultimately fired.

Shepard had been caught up in a federal investigation into the handling of contracts and bids at the agency, though he was never charged with any crimes. He has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit that is pending in Hampden Superior Court.

Others who departed the agency under a cloud were lawyer Kevin M. Walkowski, the agency's former legal counsel, who was placed on paid administrative leave and then let go amid the federal investigation. Walkowski sued the agency for wrongful termination and reached a settlement with the PVTA this fall that will pay him $175,000, including $25,000 from the agency's coffers.

Keith C. Henry, the former CFO, resigned in 2007 during a management restructuring initiated by MacInnes. His departure came after a critical audit detailed millions of dollars in accounting errors and a lack of knowledge of general accounting practices at the agency.

Now that her contract has been renewed, MacInnes said she is looking forward to continuing to improve the PVTA and its services. Projects that remain a priority include the redevelopment of Union Station in Springfield and the creation of an intermodal transit station in Holyoke, she noted.

"There's a lot more to do here that's very exciting," MacInnes said. "There are a lot of things I would like to accomplish for the PVTA in the future."

Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.