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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Schroon Lake Volunteer Fire Department Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 114132706
NY · NTEE M24
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jeffrey Haines, Executive Director / CEO ($7,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 22 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Jeffrey Haines — reported title “Secretary/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

22 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 22 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$109 total compensation of comparable organizations → $40,645 $7,500
$26710th
$53725th
$706Median
$2,85175th
$6,03190th
$7,500This org · 91st
p10$267
p25$537
p50$706
p75$2,851
p90$6,031
$7,500

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
Silver Bay Firefighters MN$42,906 Treasurer $500 $547 2024
Wesley Fire Department Inc IA$42,145 Fire Chief/p $635 $792 2023
Yorkshire Volunteer Fire Department VA$50,952 Treasurer $4,200 $4,620 2023
Winona Volunteer Fire Department MO$51,147 President $830 $973 2024
Mission Township Fire Fighters Reli MN$52,600 President $240 $262 2024
Remer Volunteer Firemens Relief MN$39,080 Chair $3,315 $3,732 2023
Thornwood Fire Co No 1 NY$54,202 President $200 $206 2023
Watkins Fireman's Relief Association MN$54,967 President $300 $328 2024
St Paul Volunteer Fire Department IN$37,444 Fire Chief $500 $601 2023
Brooktondale Volunteer Fire Co Inc NY$57,882 President $300 $309 2023
Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department Inc IN$34,854 President $797 $958 2023
Kenyon Fire Relief Association MN$59,974 Treasurer $550 $619 2023
Greenwood Lake Volunteer Fire NY$60,771 Secretary $599 $599 2024
Central Lakes Community Organization And MN$61,523 Treasurer $900 $984 2024
Firemens Protective Association CT$61,547 Treasurer $3,000 $3,113 2024
Lapaz North Township Fire Dept IN$31,235 Chief $1,717 $2,063 2023
Dawson Firemen's Benefit MN$62,683 Trustee $37,170 $40,645 2024
River Vale Volunteer Ambulance Corps Inc NJ$63,498 President $540 $534 2024
Washington Fire Company No 2 Inc IN$63,832 Secy-treas $480 $577 2023
Beecher Falls Volunteer Fire Dept Inc VT$65,561 Chief $5,396 $6,188 2023
Nvfc 21st Century Fund DC$66,162 Chief Executive Officer $23,829 $23,141 2024
Ghent Firemen's Relief Association MN$66,359 President $100 $109 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 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 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)91st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted95th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted91st

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 (Jeffrey Haines) 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 22 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $7,500 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.