Regional transportation director fired

Ray Miller Jr., director of transportation for the Capital Region Planning Commission, was terminated Monday, according to a letter he sent to the commission’s executive committee. On his way out, Miller is accusing CRPC Executive Director Huey Dugas of micromanaging staffers, maintaining a “hostile and demeaning work environment,” and leaving “significant grant revenue” untapped. “CRPC has wonderful potential and some very talented staff, but they are handcuffed by an executive director who will not allow them to do their job,” Miller writes. “I have heard racial comments, demeaning comments about the gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and education level of employees that could ultimately affect their performance and potential success.” Miller’s complaint about untapped grants for transportation projects is not new; John Fregonese, the Oregon-based planner who led the creation of FuturEBR, has said the commission isn’t as aggressive as it could be and sometimes leaves money on the table. Dugas did not immediately return a call seeking comment. In an email to various government officials that work with the commission, Miller says he was told he was let go because his performance did not meet expectations, and that he did not properly communicate “how planning task priorities are managed and how issues and conflicts are resolved,” a claim he calls “unsubstantiated.” The CRPC, housed in Baton Rouge, serves 11 parishes. You can read Miller’s complete letter here. —David Jacobs