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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 010224627
ME · NTEE B71Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joanna Breen, Executive Director / CEO ($70,551) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 53 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 70th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Joanna Breen — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

53 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 53 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,033 total compensation of comparable organizations → $169,960 $70,551
$35,12510th
$52,44625th
$60,258Median
$72,49475th
$87,25190th
$70,551This org · 70th
p10$35,125
p25$52,446
p50$60,258
p75$72,494
p90$87,251
$70,551

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to ME cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Norwich Public Library Association VT$486,604 Director $84,072 $82,083 2024
Palmyra Public Library PA$487,314 Executive Di $45,014 $43,544 2024
Maryland Library Association Inc MD$487,497 Executive Director $79,500 $70,238 2025
Brainerd Memorial Library CT$504,052 Director $90,313 $84,565 2023
Wiscasset Public Library ME$507,495 Library Director $62,038 $60,258 2024
Alleghany Highlands Regional Library Inc VA$462,823 Library Director $80,953 $73,865 2025
Downingtown Library Company PA$512,194 Int. Director $60,425 $60,177 2023
Julia L Butterfield Memorial NY$512,964 Director $70,000 $61,357 2024
Richmond Memorial Library Association Inc CT$453,159 Library Director $95,476 $89,399 2023
Bradford Area Public Library PA$519,046 Executive Director $54,160 $52,390 2024
Wisconsin Library Association Inc WI$521,939 Executive Director $101,295 $102,616 2024
Baldwin Borough Public Library PA$447,760 Executive Dir. $68,569 $66,329 2024
Cross' Mills Public Library RI$439,211 Executive Directors $77,456 $72,044 2024
Kirkland Town Library NY$531,556 Library Director $69,451 $60,875 2024
Middlesex County Public VA$438,434 Executive Di $38,492 $35,122 2025
Southern Lehigh Public Library PA$538,182 Executive Director $57,603 $55,720 2024
Moon Township Public Library PA$545,799 Executive Dir. $72,726 $70,350 2024
Huntingdon County Library PA$548,198 Executive Director $68,445 $66,208 2024
Alpine Public Library Association Inc TX$421,341 Executive Dir. $36,212 $35,137 2024
Southeastern Wisconsin Information WI$421,183 Coordinator $4,969 $5,033 2024
Waterloo Library And Historical Society NY$418,514 Executive Director $60,207 $54,332 2023
Honey Brook Community Library PA$418,267 Director $54,475 $52,695 2024
Malvern Public Library PA$416,962 Library Dire $74,943 $72,494 2024
Greenville Area Public Library PA$554,895 Librarian And Director $55,134 $53,332 2024
Berwick Public Library PA$556,939 Executive Di $78,000 $75,451 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ME cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to ME cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default70th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)62nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted74th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted68th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Joanna Breen) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 53 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B71), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $70,551 is reasonable (approximately the 70th percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.