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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Belfast Free Library

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 010351143
ME · NTEE B71Z
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Steve Norman, Executive Director / CEO ($8,635) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 42 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 5th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Steve Norman — reported title “Executive Direc”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

42 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 42 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,182 total compensation of comparable organizations → $105,647 $8,635
$32,53210th
$44,95025th
$55,832Median
$71,30675th
$75,94490th
$8,635This org · 5th
p10$32,532
p25$44,950
p50$55,832
p75$71,306
p90$75,944
$8,635

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
The Union Library Company Of Hatborough PA$347,488 Library Directo $28,447 $29,167 2023
Peoples Library PA$355,742 Executive Director $74,071 $73,767 2024
Olive Free Library Association NY$338,865 Director $61,741 $55,716 2024
Highland Falls Library NY$332,422 Director $66,438 $59,955 2024
Friends Of The Central Library Inc NY$332,061 Executive Director $44,252 $41,113 2023
Madison County Library VA$372,357 Librarian $47,316 $45,624 2024
South Fayette Township Library PA$378,596 Executive Dir. $63,341 $63,081 2024
Friends Of The Chas County Library SC$380,695 Director $72,000 $75,013 2024
Glendora Public Library CA$393,944 Executive Director $80,192 $67,371 2025
Waldoboro Public Library ME$298,475 Executive Director $42,238 $43,486 2023
Tyson Library Association Inc IN$405,192 Director $55,112 $58,041 2024
Paris Public Library Association ME$296,529 Library Director $55,825 $54,386 2025
Malvern Public Library PA$416,962 Library Dire $74,943 $74,636 2024
Minoa Free Library NY$284,438 Director $42,079 $39,094 2023
Honey Brook Community Library PA$418,267 Director $54,475 $54,252 2024
Waterloo Library And Historical Society NY$418,514 Executive Director $60,207 $55,936 2023
Southeastern Wisconsin Information WI$421,183 Coordinator $4,969 $5,182 2024
Alpine Public Library Association Inc TX$421,341 Executive Dir. $36,212 $36,175 2024
Webster Memorial Library MI$275,359 President $6,000 $6,025 2025
The Southworth Library Association NY$275,155 Executive Director $56,178 $52,193 2023
Schoolcraft Community Library MI$270,614 Director $55,494 $55,728 2025
Scottdale Public Library PA$269,598 Library Dire $59,292 $60,793 2023
Oxford Memorial Library NY$267,033 Director $23,721 $20,855 2025
Middlesex County Public VA$438,434 Executive Di $38,492 $36,159 2025
South Butler Community Library PA$263,324 Library Director $45,500 $45,313 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 2024 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 default5th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)5th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted90th

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 (Steve Norman) 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 42 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B71), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,635 is reasonable (approximately the 5th 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.