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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Gowanda Free Library

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 166000414
NY · NTEE B70
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Heidi Khawam Rabat, Executive Director / CEO ($28,426) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 31 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 16th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

31 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 31 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,495 total compensation of comparable organizations → $70,079 $28,426
$23,55610th
$32,56525th
$48,388Median
$52,60975th
$65,83590th
$28,426This org · 16th
p10$23,556
p25$32,565
p50$48,388
p75$52,609
p90$65,835
$28,426

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
The Heritage Public Library PA$139,270 Library Dire $38,094 $42,040 2024
Moores Memorial Library PA$138,050 Executive Di $48,107 $53,090 2024
Slippery Rock Community Library PA$134,279 Director $31,847 $35,146 2024
Myers Memorial Library NY$133,689 Director $31,200 $32,122 2023
Martinsburg Community Library PA$149,379 Library Director $36,290 $39,017 2025
Hudson Falls Free Library NY$132,782 Executive Director $47,000 $48,388 2023
Monroe County Public Library AL$154,495 Director $41,791 $49,963 2024
Vista Grande Public Library NM$155,104 Library Director $57,188 $70,079 2023
Brown Public Library VT$157,280 Library Director $59,105 $65,835 2024
Blue Grass Resource Center VA$120,150 Executive Director $26,302 $28,104 2024
Capitan Public Library Volunteer NM$119,679 Treasurer $2,492 $2,966 2024
Morrisville Public Library NY$166,367 Executive Director $56,701 $58,376 2023
Raymond Library Company CT$166,584 Treasurer $2,405 $2,495 2024
Fallsington Library Co PA$112,036 Library Director $39,675 $45,078 2023
Lincoln Library Inc VT$171,285 Managing Librarian $31,905 $36,587 2023
Norwood Public Library NY$108,712 Library Dire $33,008 $33,008 2024
Morgan County Public Library WV$177,689 Director $17,500 $21,588 2023
Schuylkill Valley Community Library Inc PA$188,282 Library Director $35,101 $39,882 2023
Bookleggers Library Inc FL$191,195 President, C $64,779 $67,345 2024
Avalon Public Library PA$195,374 Executive Dir. $45,000 $49,662 2024
Ellicottville Memorial Library NY$196,797 Library Director $58,175 $59,893 2023
Godfrey Memorial Library CT$197,012 Executive Di $55,600 $57,691 2024
Brandywine Community Library PA$198,852 Director $46,688 $51,524 2024
Ella Library TN$202,719 President $24,481 $29,318 2023
Chester Springs Library PA$204,014 Executive Director $61,685 $68,075 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 default16th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)23rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted16th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted16th

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 (Heidi Khawam Rabat) 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 31 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B70), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $28,426 is reasonable (approximately the 16th 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.