Metro Council to begin deeper look into CATS operations Wednesday

BATON ROUGE – The Metro Council’s CATS Investigative Committee will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday and it hopes to uncover more about what’s caused a string of problems with the system. 

In a statement the council sent out Tuesday, the board emphasized that discussion would be raised on what records were shared between the CATS board and its attorney, Murphy Foster. 

It comes after the initial meeting set for Oct. 26 was postponed, due to the controversial Stormwater Utility Fee calling for immediate attention from the council.

After attempts to get those documents were refused by CATS, Metro Council plans on re-addressing the issue. 

The investigative committee specifically looking into CATS is comprised of six Metro Council members and was formed shortly after former Comptroller John Cutrone tested positive for meth.

Cutrone was kept under hire after the discovery.

The committee called for Metro Council to do a deeper investigation, uncovering a string of mismanagement, which led to the termination of former CATS CEO Bill Deville. 

Management is only one of the issues CATS has run into this year: unpaid bills, failed drug tests, fired executives, and busses catching fire all make up a list leading to further investigations by the council. 

Issues with management stem beyond recent incidents. It’s something the Metro Council says could call for a deeper investigation into the system and its operations. 

Just over a year ago, WBRZ’s Investigative Unit uncovered hidden audio recordings between the second in command at the time and a former employee. 

In that recording, Pearlina Thomas says 5 million dollars were misplaced in the CATS system, a cover-up they indicate was made by Deville. 

The investigative committee will meet Wednesday at 4 p.m., starting a deeper look into the CATS Board and its systems of operation.