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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

New York State Association Of Traffic

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 113513108
NY · NTEE W20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rachel Lugo, Executive Director / CEO ($6,338) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 28 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 0th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Rachel Lugo — reported title “Treasurer”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

28 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 28 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$16,364 total compensation of comparable organizations → $190,339 $6,338
$38,56110th
$75,40125th
$95,992Median
$124,09575th
$181,91890th
$6,338This org · 0th
p10$38,561
p25$75,401
p50$95,992
p75$124,095
p90$181,918
$6,338

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 NY 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
Washington Dc Homeland Security DC$446,271 President $196,000 $190,339 2023
Fda Expositions Inc MD$458,747 President $183,000 $183,903 2024
California City Management Foundation CA$434,938 Executive Director $129,394 $123,648 2023
Women Winning MN$428,587 Executive Director $160,542 $170,515 2024
Tea Party Patriots Foundation Inc GA$472,219 President $14,706 $16,364 2023
Center For Procurement Advocacy Inc DC$472,417 Executive Director $26,890 $26,113 2023
To The Village Square Inc FL$422,019 Founder & Ce $85,000 $85,832 2024
State Government Affairs Council VA$478,088 Executive Director $37,760 $39,190 2024
Center For New Democratic Processes MN$480,227 Executive Director $136,396 $149,148 2023
The Dekleptocracy Project VA$484,422 President And Executive Director $109,375 $116,869 2023
Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund MA$383,723 Executive Director $38,401 $37,092 2024
Government Oversight And Education Inc VA$380,086 Preisdent $180,000 $186,816 2024
Decatur Legacy Project Inc GA$374,115 Executive Dir. $74,000 $79,979 2024
Minnesota Counties Foundation MN$526,359 Executive Director $40,614 $43,137 2024
Portage Development Board OH$371,014 President $102,636 $116,849 2024
Kentucky County Clerks Association KY$364,818 Executive Dir. $51,865 $61,665 2023
The Transparency Foundation CA$354,319 Ceo $110,000 $105,115 2023
Northwest Ottawa Recreation Authority MI$352,532 Nora Director $53,734 $58,080 2025
100reporters DC$351,207 President $129,165 $125,435 2023
Somerset Economic Development ME$551,464 Executive Director $90,800 $100,619 2023
Public Assets Institute Inc VT$555,832 President $99,466 $110,792 2023
Powerhouse Texas TX$556,109 Executive Director $72,500 $80,257 2023
Demand Justice DC$566,313 Managing Director $90,959 $85,797 2024
Wv Cant Wait Votes A Non-profit Corporation WV$329,916 Cochair $69,471 $83,241 2023
Visit Issaquah WA$302,029 Executive Director $116,700 $112,308 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default0th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)0th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted14th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted0th

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 (Rachel Lugo) 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 28 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $6,338 is reasonable (approximately the 0th 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.