Capital Area Transit System’s Chief Revenue Office Bill Deville was appointed the transit agency’s interim CEO in a special meeting today—three days after CATS CEO Bob Mirabito announced his resignation.
Deville said he will apply to officially replace Mirabito, whose resignation from the agency takes effect May 6. The CATS Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Deville’s appointment during the meeting at the BREC Administration Building on Florida Boulevard.
In the interim, Deville will receive a contract of up to $150,000 annually that will become month-to-month after the first four months. The contract can be extended up to one year.
“I’ve been here two years now and I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it, met a lot of good people here,” said Deville, who was once general manager of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. “I see that I can fill a need with my experience and my leadership skills.”
He also said he feels he owes Baton Rouge. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Deville said, he came and lived in the Capital City for six months. CATS offered him a place to stay and an office from which to operate the RTA, he said. He also assisted CATS during that time.
“I can’t think of a better person that can step in and help us move the agency forward than Bill Deville,” said CATS Board President James Brandt. “He has already made a huge contribution to the agency during his service both with MV consultants and now as an employee of CATS.”
Deville came to CATS under contract from MV Transportation Inc., a management firm that was awarded a contract with CATS about two years ago. Deville was contracted to manage that contract, which CATS did not renew last year.
Also during the meeting, Brandt said he will propose at the next regular meeting that the board state its opposition to House Bill 958 by Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge. The bill would redirect a $100,000 allocation CATS receives from the East Baton Rouge Parish Enhancement Fund to the Baton Rouge Sports Foundation. Brandt called the bill “troubling.”
Brandt also said the commission has requested to have House Bill 159 by Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith, D-Baton Rouge, pulled from consideration now that the system is looking for a new chief.
The bill, had it been approved, would have allowed CATS to raise fares and make route changes without the Metro Council’s approval.
“Now is not the best time to proceed with that legislation,” Brandt said.
Meanwhile, the commission is making plans to find its next CEO. The board named nine people—including Brandt and Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp—to a search committee tasked with finding Mirabito’s replacement. Named as chairman of the committee is CATS board member Ken Perret, who stressed that there will be transparency for the search process.
Other committee members are Edgar Cage of Together Baton Rouge; Cordell Haymon, senior vice president of SGS Petroleum Service Corp.; Metro Councilwoman Donna Collins-Lewis; LSU professor and former CATS board member Chris Tyson; Naomi Guy, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1546; and Linda Perkins, vice president of the board of commissioners. A tenth member is yet to be named.
During the meeting, Brandt faced questions from the public about how the search committee members had been vetted. He said other commissioners submitted suggestions of potential candidates who historically have had a stake in public transit.
Brandt told the commissioners that he will work closely with Deville, who will have the same powers as Mirabito while serving as interim CEO. Deville said he already has long-term plans to address some of the transportation agency’s challenges, including lengthy travel times, limited transfers at intersections, bus shelter locations and overcrowded facilities.
“This is the capital of Louisiana,” he said. “We deserve better.”
—Alexandria Burris
