NETEX talks solvent budget

A year after the group announced they were facing a bankruptcy scare, the Northeast Texas Rural Rail Transportation District (NETEX) found themselves on much better financial footing for the 2021 fiscal year at a budget session Thursday.

After convening at 1:30 p.m. at the Hopkins County courthouse, the group found there were not enough members of NETEX present for a quorum. After consulting with Titus County Judge Brian Lee and Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom, members present Barker (Hopkins County), Mickey Barker (Hopkins County), Nate Priefert (Titus County) and Cheryl Williams (Collin County) determined they were able to hold a work session without a quorum.

In reviewing the group’s proposed budget, revenues grew from the previous year by approximately $13,000. Treasurer Neal Barker attributed this both to the organization of leases and also to the group’s new partnership with operator Freedom Rail.

“We’ve already got revenue coming, and we may get more,” Neal Barker said.

Among leases, Neal Barker highlighted a business opportunity the group recently delved into, which was providing access to land for agricultural water piping company Renda.

Revenues from Freedom Rail are projected to bring in approximately $78,000, which is substantially higher than the $50,000 contributed last year at this same time by former operator Blacklands Rail, Neal Barker said. However, the operating agreement reached by NETEX and Freedom Rail necessitates that NETEX reinvest a full 50% of this revenue back into track maintenance. NETEX plans to spend approximately $36,000 on cross ties, Neal Barker noted in the group’s budget.

“We know we’re always needing ties, so I thought that’s where we should put it,” Neal Barker said.

The largest budget reduction from the previous year fell under professional services. In 2019, former Executive Director Phil Davila proposed a salary for himself of $100,000 per year in addition to meals, mileage and lodging. With Davila ousted in June 2020, the executive director/consultant fees category had been cut to $0 in the 2021 projected budget. Priefert inquired if Davila had been “completely paid out,” and Neal Barker stated he had.

However, Williams stated she believed there was a need for the addition of an executive assistant, if not an executive director, to help balance the workload the group faced.

“I’ve had the conversation with [chairman] Judge Lee about getting some relief from the workload,” Williams said. “I think it’s something we need to plan for to help to reduce the amount of work.”

Williams proposed a $12,000 per year, contract employee position. The other members of the group agreed that such a position could be helpful. Mickey Barker expressed that although Mitzi Y’Barbo acts as the group’s administrative assistant for payment of $1,000 per year, she serves in a full-time capacity as an employee of the Sulphur Springs Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation, and he believed asking her to work full or part-time for NETEX was “a lot for her to be doing.”

The group had previously discussed employing former Delta County representative Dr. Jason Lee Davis on behalf of NETEX, but now were unsure due to his ongoing employment with Texas A&M University Commerce.

“I would assume he and college would be more than happy to assist us,” Mickey Barker noted. “But it could be a conflict.”

“We would need to know what his position at the college was,” Williams clarified. The group resolved to discuss the issue of the administrative position and their website at the regular September meeting.

After a comment from Mount Vernon Optic-Herald reporter Lilly Bush-Reeves, the group also noted they had not included a line-item for their financial audit, which was in the process of being completed for the current fiscal year. Neal Barker stated the certified public accountant told him the delivery of the audit had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The group added a $12,000 cost line item to the budget for the audit.

With no further business, the meeting concluded at 2:10 p.m. The group will not face bankruptcy in the next year, Neal Barker said.

“I think it’s a pretty conservative budget,” Neal Barker told the News-Telegram. “We’ve got plenty of cash, and we’re on track to make more than we spend.”

“I think in six months when we look at this [budget], we’ll see a promising improvement,” Mickey Barker agreed.