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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Brentwood Volunteer Exempt Firemen's

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 116016169
NY · NTEE M03
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of John Kenavan, Executive Director / CEO ($5,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 302 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 43rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

302 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 302 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2 total compensation of comparable organizations → $272,435 $5,000
$54710th
$1,51125th
$8,433Median
$46,98775th
$83,01890th
$5,000This org · 43rd
p10$547
p25$1,511
p50$8,433
p75$46,987
p90$83,018
$5,000

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
Keystone Fire Company 1 PA$226,607 Treasurer $599 $661 2024
New York State United Teachers Disaster Relief & Scholarship Fund NY$225,980 Secretary $136,101 $136,101 2024
Cb Avalanche Center Inc CO$227,426 Executive Director $29,812 $31,635 2024
Long Cove Volunteer Fire Department AL$225,080 Employee $128,667 $153,829 2024
Hawtree Volunteer Fire Department Inc NC$224,891 Chief $256 $302 2023
Floyd Romance Volunteer Fire Department AR$224,769 Treasurer $1,313 $1,591 2025
Ringgold Volunteer Fire & Rescue Inc VA$228,267 Director $15,546 $16,611 2024
Communities United Inc FL$224,071 Executive Director $48,000 $51,376 2023
Caldwell Institute For Public Safety FL$223,897 President $25,000 $25,990 2024
Wellsburg Volunteer Fire Department Inc WV$223,428 Fire Chief $600 $719 2024
Vestal Fire Department Inc NY$229,649 Recording Secretary $1,000 $1,030 2023
Architects & Engineers For 911 CA$229,874 Director Of Operations $54,000 $53,126 2023
Anderson Township Perry County Fire Dept Inc IN$229,966 Fire Chief $599 $699 2024
Lake Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department NY$230,088 Vice President $3,554 $3,554 2024
Villas Volunteer Fire Company Inc NJ$230,226 President $1,000 $988 2024
Lindstrom Volunteer Firemen's MN$222,499 Trustee $4,000 $4,503 2023
Routt County Wildfire Mitigation Council CO$222,467 Executive Director $68,221 $72,392 2024
Flushing Volunteer Fire Department OH$222,384 President $21,975 $26,518 2023
Robbinsdale Fire Relief Association MN$222,352 President $1,900 $2,078 2024
Friends Of First Responders HI$222,342 President $4,000 $3,963 2024
Metropolitan Safety Council Of LA$222,087 President, Director $33,963 $41,386 2024
Rebuild Paradise Foundation CA$230,879 Executive Director $75,500 $72,147 2024
Hope Desoto Long Term Recovery FL$230,888 Executive Di $68,409 $71,119 2024
Lake Kabetogama Area Vol Fire Dept MN$221,132 Treasurer $3,600 $3,835 2025
Freehold Volunteer Fire Company Inc NY$220,673 President $500 $515 2023

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 default43rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted47th
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 (John Kenavan) 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 302 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (M), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $5,000 is reasonable (approximately the 43rd 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.