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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Paris Public Library Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 010281558
ME · NTEE B71Z
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Dignan, Executive Director / CEO ($55,825) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 37 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 54th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Michael Dignan — reported title “Library Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

37 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 37 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,319 total compensation of comparable organizations → $114,844 $55,825
$23,28110th
$37,13225th
$53,575Median
$62,40175th
$75,88590th
$55,825This org · 54th
p10$23,281
p25$37,132
p50$53,575
p75$62,401
p90$75,885
$55,825

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
Waldoboro Public Library ME$298,475 Executive Director $42,238 $44,636 2023
Minoa Free Library NY$284,438 Director $42,079 $40,129 2023
Webster Memorial Library MI$275,359 President $6,000 $6,185 2025
The Southworth Library Association NY$275,155 Executive Director $56,178 $53,575 2023
Schoolcraft Community Library MI$270,614 Director $55,494 $57,202 2025
Scottdale Public Library PA$269,598 Library Dire $59,292 $62,401 2023
Oxford Memorial Library NY$267,033 Director $23,721 $21,406 2025
South Butler Community Library PA$263,324 Library Director $45,500 $46,512 2024
Friends Of The Central Library Inc NY$332,061 Executive Director $44,252 $42,202 2023
Highland Falls Library NY$332,422 Director $66,438 $61,541 2024
Olive Free Library Association NY$338,865 Director $61,741 $57,191 2024
Southeast Library System MN$253,075 Executive Director $33,420 $32,978 2025
The Union Library Company Of Hatborough PA$347,488 Library Directo $28,447 $29,939 2023
Belfast Free Library ME$351,170 Executive Direc $8,635 $8,863 2024
Clairton Public Library PA$241,323 Executive Dir. $55,264 $56,493 2024
Fort Plain Free Library NY$240,174 Director $51,652 $47,845 2024
Peoples Library PA$355,742 Executive Director $74,071 $75,719 2024
Montour Falls Memorial Library NY$233,751 Library Director $38,659 $36,867 2023
Annie Lee Thompson Library Trust Fund TX$223,606 Ceo $47,544 $48,752 2024
The Detroit Public Library Friends MI$221,854 Exec Director/board President $108,542 $114,844 2024
Madison County Library VA$372,357 Librarian $47,316 $46,832 2024
Lakewood Memorial Library NY$214,711 Library Dire $68,069 $63,052 2024
South Fayette Township Library PA$378,596 Executive Dir. $63,341 $64,750 2024
Friends Of The Chas County Library SC$380,695 Director $72,000 $76,998 2024
Grove City Community Library PA$207,191 Interim Dire $23,997 $24,531 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 2025 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 default54th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)62nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted59th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted43rd

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 (Michael Dignan) 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 37 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B71), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $55,825 is reasonable (approximately the 54th 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.