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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hamilton Wenham Community Access & Media Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 205699546
MA · NTEE A32
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of William Melville, Executive Director / CEO ($58,173) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 35 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 31st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

35 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 35 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,270 total compensation of comparable organizations → $123,522 $58,173
$28,65110th
$51,06325th
$69,123Median
$87,97875th
$112,18090th
$58,173This org · 31st
p10$28,651
p25$51,063
p50$69,123
p75$87,978
p90$112,180
$58,173

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 MA 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
Nevada County Digital Media Center CA$277,660 President $27,635 $25,871 2025
Puget Sound Accesscarco Theater WA$270,706 Executive Director $59,211 $60,735 2023
Okemo Valley Tv Corp VT$268,060 Director $67,717 $75,849 2024
Inside Out Media CA$266,598 Executive Direc $52,000 $49,968 2024
Springfield Area Public Access VT$262,650 Former Exec Dir $46,565 $52,157 2024
Billings Community Cable Corp MT$293,831 Executive Director $88,448 $106,098 2024
The Defiance Community Cultural OH$259,524 Executive Di $32,692 $39,671 2023
Salisbury Community Tv & Media Center Inc MA$298,299 Executive Director $78,832 $78,832 2024
Summit Public Radio And Tv Inc CO$298,564 Board Member $6,131 $6,542 2024
Amesbury Community Television Inc MA$250,491 Exec. Dir. $42,148 $43,393 2023
Community Media Of The Foothills CA$246,617 Executive Dir. $66,620 $65,908 2023
New Castle Community Television Inc NY$310,078 Executive Di $122,837 $123,522 2024
Community Television Network Inc IL$237,584 Executive Dir. $41,832 $45,766 2024
Christian Education Enterprises Inc IN$227,489 President $20,700 $24,292 2024
Behold The Lamb Ministries IL$331,541 President $30,000 $32,821 2024
Wayland Community Access And Media Inc MA$335,416 Highly Compensated Employee $115,877 $119,300 2023
Chelsea Community Cable Television Inc MA$219,326 Executive Director $101,780 $99,156 2025
Talking Eyes Media Inc NJ$218,402 Executive Director $85,000 $86,948 2023
Greater Newburyport Community Media Hub Inc MA$337,898 Executive Director $105,181 $108,288 2023
Hartford Public Access Television Inc CT$216,000 Executive Director $73,846 $77,051 2024
Concord Community Tv NH$339,601 Executive Di $64,116 $67,828 2023
Whitewater Community IN$341,443 Executive Director $63,018 $72,048 2025
Pleasantville Community Television Inc NY$211,864 Station Manager $114,138 $114,774 2024
Saco River Community Television ME$210,663 Executive Di $60,802 $67,753 2024
Millis Community Media Inc MA$205,615 Board Treasurer $5,850 $6,270 2022

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default31st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)31st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted37th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted31st

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 (William Melville) 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 35 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $58,173 is reasonable (approximately the 31st 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.