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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cranbury Fire Company Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 203406894
NJ · NTEE M24
FY ending 2024-10-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of James Taylor, Executive Director / CEO ($400) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 154 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 9th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: James Taylor — 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

154 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 154 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$29 total compensation of comparable organizations → $155,687 $400
$46810th
$1,00225th
$2,376Median
$7,55575th
$25,50390th
$400This org · 9th
p10$468
p25$1,002
p50$2,376
p75$7,555
p90$25,503
$400

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 NJ 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
North Middleton Township Volunteer PA$207,824 Trustee Thro $2,074 $2,385 2023
Monticello Fire Department Inc NY$206,137 Treasurer $1,200 $1,250 2023
Option Independent Fire Company Of PA$212,217 President $480 $552 2023
Shop On State Inc IA$212,753 Manager $24,301 $29,034 2025
Manor Volunteer Fire Department PA$213,195 President $240 $268 2024
Branch Volunteer Fire & Rescue Inc WI$202,352 President $860 $1,006 2024
Jot-um-down Vol Fire Dept In NC$202,091 Chief $700 $789 2025
Lake Dalecarlia Volunteer Fire Depa IN$214,937 Chief $1,250 $1,583 2022
White Plains Volunteer Fire Department Inc NC$215,185 Secretary/treasurer $6,000 $6,764 2025
Mountain Park Volunteer Fire Department Inc NC$216,005 Treasurer $1,475 $1,663 2025
Melfa Volunteer Fire And Rescu VA$216,290 Fire Chief $5,300 $5,583 2025
Waynesboro Volunteer Fire Department Inc PA$198,913 Treasurer $500 $575 2023
Fishers Island Fire Department NY$216,886 Fire Chief $3,000 $3,036 2024
Stovall Volunteer Fire Department NC$198,740 Chief $5,775 $6,683 2024
Cody Volunteer Fire Department WY$198,218 Treasurer $1,500 $1,799 2024
Rio Grande Volunteer Fire Co #1 Inc NJ$217,708 President $1,200 $1,200 2024
Hardin Volunteer Fire Department Inc TX$197,620 President $56,031 $62,775 2024
Center City Firemen's Relief Association MN$197,073 Board Member/gamb Mngr $20,230 $22,389 2024
Biglerville Hose & Truck Co No 1 PA$196,883 Treasurer $3,600 $4,139 2023
Albany Area Volunteer Fire Dep OH$219,413 Fire Chief $390 $451 2025
Bear Pond Rural Fire Departmentinc NC$196,276 Chief $15,288 $18,216 2023
Nelson Volunteer Fire Company Inc PA$195,943 Ems Chief $34,102 $39,214 2023
Hope Engine Company Number 1 Of White Plains New York NY$220,265 Treasurer $300 $313 2023
Litchfield County Fire Chiefs Emergency CT$220,415 School Director $6,150 $6,650 2023
People's Firehouse Inc NY$195,289 Executive Director $39,500 $39,977 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 NJ 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 default9th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)10th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted13th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted9th

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 (James Taylor) 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 154 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $400 is reasonable (approximately the 9th 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.