Metro Council to discuss CATS board, police chief Wednesday

The Metro Council is slated to take up two hot button issues at its regular meeting Wednesday. One is the establishment of a committee to “identify and fully vet applicants” to fill one current and all future vacancies on the nine-member board overseeing the CATS public transit system. Metro Councilwomen C. Denise Marcelle and Ronnie Edwards have placed the item on the agenda. If approved, it will be the only formal committee in place to make recommendations about board appointments to the Metro Council, which also appoints members to boards overseeing the city-parish library system, BREC and Baton Rouge Metro Airport. The Metro Council is expected to appoint someone to fill one vacancy on the board on March 27. Also Wednesday, the council is set to discuss the possibility of amending the plan of government to make the police chief an elected position rather than one appointed by the mayor. Marcelle—who recently called for a federal investigation into the Baton Rouge Police Department in the wake of the abrupt firing of former Chief Dewayne White by Mayor Kip Holden—has also placed that item on the agenda. The council meets on the third floor of City Hall, 222 St. Louis St., beginning at 4 p.m. The full agenda can be found here.