ASK THE ADVOCATE: CATS’ budget

Advocate staff file photo by PATRICK DENNISCapital Area Transit System buses line the terminal at Florida and 22nd streets in August. A bus rapid transit system similar to one in El Paso, Texas, was touted at a conference Wednesday in Baton Rouge.

Since CATS lost the LSU contract in 2009, has CATS sought other contracts with other companies for transport contracts? Has CATS gone to Southern University, the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging, summer programs with the East Baton Rouge Parish Recreation and Parks Commission, agencies in the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals, EBR School Board, the diocese school system or the local charter schools to offer transport services for a fee?

Response from Brian Marshall, chief executive officer, Capital Area Transit System:

CATS has and will continue to seek business from as many sources as possible.

We already have agreements with Southern and have been or already are talking with most of the agencies you have listed.

Who paid for the four Capital Area Transit System leaders to go to Colorado in February 2012 for a transit convention? What was the total cost, including airport parking, airplane tickets, hotel rooms, food, beverages and seminar fees?

Response from Brian Marshall, chief executive officer, Capital Area Transit System:

The Southwest Transit Association conference was a staff development opportunity which was paid for from excess funds from what we anticipated from advertising revenue.

Four top management people attended with an approximate expense of $8,000. At that conference, the CEO of CATS was elected to the Southwest Transit Association Board of Directors.

CATS CEO has persuaded SWTA to hold the next conference in Baton Rouge, bringing over a quarter-million dollars (in estimated total economic impact) to Baton Rouge.

Comments

1) Comment by tradewinns - 04/02/2013

i know the CATS TAX passed the vote and WILL start soon. can we the people not vote again & stop it? if it had failed, which it did prior, they revoted till they won. can we not do the same?

2) Comment by Chucky - 04/02/2013

DMJ - Glad you logged in , the ski lift open at 8 and the meeting is over at 7:30 , the ski lift closes at 5 and the reception is at 6. Come on man ., you know better.

3) Comment by TLS - 04/02/2013

I decided to check out the SWTA 2012 Agenda and Final Attendee List. Here are the number of people from cities in Louisiana that it list as attendees Baton Rouge 4 Shreveport 3 Lake Charles 2 New Orleans 2 Lafayette 1 DMJ, I guess my point is why was it necessary for four people to attend this convention.

4) Comment by DMJ - 04/02/2013

People complain about CATS not being run well and then they complain about its executives going to a conference about how to better operate transit systems. You just can't win with some people.

5) Comment by Chucky - 04/02/2013

tradewinns -I did gloss over that part about "we anticipated" , do not have the money yet but the check is in the mail, maybe. Does the Director run his house hold the same way ? Get a Professional.

6) Comment by phil - 04/02/2013

Sounds like tax funds are all considered excess funds to me. Now that CATS has all of that new tax money after they were apparently broke now they have excess money? Maybe that is how a public bus system is run. There is plenty more of that tax money where it came from, so let's spend it all while we have it and then ask for more later? OK taxpayers, send them more of your "excess" money so they can have more excess money to spend on conferences, GPS etc Sounds to me like socialized mass transit is working just great for CATS. Is that what they taught at the conference?

7) Comment by Bill Paxton - 04/02/2013

Probably wouldn't be in this situation if we had people running CATs that knew what they were doing.

8) Comment by Chucky - 04/02/2013

$8,000 sure could have spruced up some of those areas where the poor have to wait for the bus, would be good advertisement to ride also.

9) Comment by tradewinns - 04/02/2013

read carefully. it is even worse than anyone has mentioned. ".....paid for from excess funds from what we anticipated....". they spent excess funds that have not been received. what kind of excess is that? i thought that was called a forcast and not necessarily accurate but hoped for. kinda like estimated govt building cost. it always cost more than approved, and it's never a problem, once approved always approved.

10) Comment by TLS - 04/02/2013

Good question 8point. I also didn't realize it was necessary for four people to attend a conference to have one person elected to the Board of Directors. Were the other three possible canidates? Oh, I keep forgetting that this was paid out of that "free" money from the advertising revenue.

11) Comment by 8point6 - 04/02/2013

"Four top management people attended with an approximate expense of $8,000." Is that per person?

12) Comment by arin - 04/02/2013

Doesn't make sense

13) Comment by CountryBoysCanSurvive - 04/02/2013

I saw a bus in Zachary with 2 people in it the driver and one passenger. They cannot continue to operate like this. Their budget is being eaten up like a fat lady in a chocolate store.

14) Comment by Chucky - 04/02/2013

"excess funds", OK.