Consultant: Broken CATS promises ‘devastating to the public trust’

Revelations that CATS won’t be able to keep every promise it made to voters before the tax election earlier this year will be “devastating to the public trust” when it comes to any proposed new taxes, one political observer says. CATS Chief Financial Officer Gary Owens disclosed during a court hearing Tuesday that CATS can’t afford six of the eight express and limited-stop routes to the airport, universities, malls and other areas that it promised just six months ago during the campaign in favor of a 10-year, 10.6-mill property tax. Also, buses apparently won’t run as frequently on some routes as initially projected. Owens blamed a $6.6 million shortfall in total budget revenue, including the potential loss of the city-parish’s annual $3 million annual contribution and a $600,000 contribution from the East Baton Rouge Parish transportation fund, among other issues. Political consultant Roy Fletcher tells Daily Report he isn’t at all surprised that CATS won’t be making good on its campaign promises, adding he suspects that someone is already researching options to have the hugely divisive tax that passed by a tight margin repealed. “The long-term impact of this will be devastating to the public trust,” he says. “It’s a huge political issue now. We have a situation where taxes were raised, and now subsidization will probably be asked for again. There’s going to be a fight.” A CATS spokeswoman says the agency declined comment but planned to issue a public statement later this afternoon. —Penny Font