Rolfe McCollister: CATS has too many lives—and should privatize

CATS has too many lives—and should privatize

ROLFE MCCOLLISTER JR.

ON THE OCTOBER ballot last year, CATS asked you to renew a 10-year property tax that accounts for much of the bus system’s annual $30 million budget. While acknowledging a city needs mass transit, I recommended a “no” vote to send a message: Clean up your act and get a solid plan and management with results.

I’ve long advocated for city-parish government to contract out the management of our bus system, much like Baton Rouge partners with ASM Global on operational management of the Cane’s River Center. The concept of privatizing the management of CATS is hardly new. Neither is the violent opposition to the idea from unions and big government lovers who defend the status quo and the absolute control of the associated jobs. Let’s admit it, government-run services usually stink.

Privatization is not always a magic solution, but with the pace of change and need for innovation, it often offers an improvement in government-run services. Admittedly a pretty low bar when it comes to CATS and how it has been run. (Imagine if Chick-fil-A took over the operations of CATS? Now you see my point.)

Despite the legacy of questionable—at best—operations of CATS, the mayor, BRAC officials and many others very publicly came out in support of the tax plan, and it easily passed.

Less than six months later and Bill Deville is out as CEO, removed by a CATS board that’s allowing him to continue “earning” his $190,819 salary—dollars that come from Baton Rouge and Baker property owners—while doing nothing. Another top CATS executive was fired for failing a drug test that was kept quiet until WBRZ reported the news.

CATS board member Patrick Downs told The Advocate, “We’ve had too many … unforced errors, lapses in management and judgment and those have played out in the news, and I think most of the things have been preventable. I think we owe it to the taxpayers and the riders to do a better job managing the system.”

Where was this perspective last fall when voters were making their decisions on a tax renewal? Linda Perkins, board vice president, said, “I don’t have a clue what the board has in terms of what comes next.”

Nice to know the truth mere months after CATS and its advocates conned—er, convinced— voters to give them millions in tax dollars for the next decade.

These comments from Downs and Perkins strengthen my belief that pursuing private management should be the next step by this board, mayor and BRAC. Sadly, this executive team and this board are in way over their heads when it comes to running a bus system. Their sole collective talent seems to be hiding dirty laundry until after tax elections.

We got ripped off and those who lobbied hard in support of the renewal owe all of us some answers.

Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, an ardent and loud tax supporter, has suddenly gone silent. Asked for her take on the CATS mess, spokesperson Mark Armstrong offered this weak take: “CATS is in the hands of the council and the CATS board. We trust, at the end of the day, they’re going to find the right outcomes for this situation.”

Oh really? Fool me once, shame on CATS, the mayor and BRAC. Fool me twice …

IS THERE A WILL?

I have always believed where there’s a will, there’s a way. Yet I had a different belief after reading a recent story in The Advocate on crimes at the OYO Motel: “What the hell is going on in Baton Rouge that this can’t be stopped?”

The article said that in “a 15-month stretch, records show Baton Rouge police responded to 11 shootings, 11 assaults, 13 burglaries, seven weapons-related ‘disturbances,’ four fights, 28 overdoses and a hit-and-run at an OYO Motel just off Interstate 12.”

Is this for real? The story goes on to say these crimes attracted “scrutiny from city-parish leaders as they struggle to enforce a 2018 ordinance meant to curb sex trafficking, drug use and other crime at local motels. A log of 911 calls from the OYO’s address shows that since the start of 2021, 523 incidents at the motel drew a police response—a rate of about 1.1 calls per day.”

Why do we tolerate this and allow the business to remain open? That is unacceptable.

Where is the will to stop this? Solve the problem … or heads should roll.

MUSK TO THE RESCUE

Say what you want about Elon Musk, but the man has bold ideas and chutzpah! I love that Musk has basically said, “In your face, there’s a new sheriff in town,” to the liberal establishment that owns most of the social media platforms and acts as thought police and censors.

In announcing his purchase of Twitter, Musk declared, “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential—I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

Who knows how it will work out as Musk takes Twitter private. We will all have to wait and see. For now, however, I am pleased that he has upset the apple cart and I’m amused that he has so many in California, New York and Washington, D.C., upset. Good for him. Tweet that.

REFLECTIONS

A 5-STAR IDENTIFICATION

This feature is a tribute in honor of Business Report founders, Rolfe McCollister Sr. & Rolfe McCollister Jr.

IDENTIFICATION HAS TO do with being in union with and being in the likeness of something or someone. The basis of this view is 2 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation, the old is gone, behold all things have become new.” The first two parts of one’s identification is of the old being gone. The person who existed before coming to Christ is dead and buried. That’s the first part of the Good News. Romans 6:6 states, “Knowing this our old self crucified and buried with Him in order that our body of sin may be done away with.” The other three parts of our identification have to do with the new self being in the likeness of His resurrection, ascension, and seated reigning. Ephesians 2:6-7 says, “God raised up with Jesus and seated up with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come—now, He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards in Christ Jesus.” These identifications take the good news to the level of best news. Bottom Line: The old person, a sinner before coming to Christ and receiving Him, is dead and buried; the new person—raised, ascended and seated with Christ—is experiencing amazing grace. What a union, what a likeness! —Jeff Mitchell, Retired COL and Army Chaplain