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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Mount Hope Fire Co No 1

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 222346580
NJ · NTEE M24
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of John G Elko, Executive Director / CEO ($2,813) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 75 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 65th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: John G Elko — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

75 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 75 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$12 total compensation of comparable organizations → $33,120 $2,813
$30010th
$63125th
$1,578Median
$4,40175th
$12,90390th
$2,813This org · 65th
p10$300
p25$631
p50$1,578
p75$4,401
p90$12,903
$2,813

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
Matamoras Fire Department PA$120,456 Secretary $350 $402 2023
Ramtown-howell Fire Co No2 NJ$121,255 President $300 $300 2024
Cape May Point Volunteer Fire NJ$117,068 President $9,287 $9,287 2024
Hop Bottom Hose Company PA$115,849 Secretary $600 $670 2024
North Granville Hose Co Inc NY$125,087 Treasurer $6,000 $6,252 2023
Deerfield Volunteer Fire Company I NY$113,918 Secretary $600 $607 2024
Chippewa Township Vfd PA$113,480 President $500 $558 2024
Community Fire Co Of Pavilion Inc NY$113,359 Treasurer $1,200 $1,214 2024
New Stanton Volunteer Fire PA$125,745 President $560 $644 2023
Burlington Volunteer Fire Department Inc CT$125,796 Treasurer $1,000 $1,082 2023
Springfield Firemens Relief Assoc MN$111,448 Secretary $1,800 $2,051 2023
Crafton Volunteer Fire Department PA$128,091 Chief $1,500 $1,675 2024
Kern Fire Safe Council CA$128,350 Vice Chair $27,633 $26,725 2024
Wading River Fire Dept NY$110,167 Secretary $2,100 $2,188 2023
Warrior River Fire & Rescue Service AL$130,160 Fire Chief $11,341 $13,723 2024
Alburtis Fire Company No 1 PA$131,745 Financial Secretary $3,415 $3,814 2024
Reinbeck Farmers Fire Association IA$106,621 President/none $50 $61 2024
Wilmot Volunteer Fire Company NH$106,384 Chief $500 $517 2024
Oklahoma Civilian Defense Fire Company PA$106,063 Treasurer $600 $690 2023
Brownstown Volunteer Fire Company PA$133,120 Director $2,329 $2,678 2023
Toms River Volunteer Fire Company #1 NJ$133,149 Treasurer $600 $618 2023
Farmingville Fire Dept Benevolent Association NY$104,658 Treasurer $5,000 $5,060 2024
Elkland Borough Volunteer Fire Department Inc PA$134,481 Chief - Firehall; Secretary - Relief $25 $28 2024
Brooklyn Hose Company No 3 PA$135,242 Secretary $28,802 $33,120 2023
Lumberton Fire Company No 1 NJ$103,763 President $2,775 $2,857 2023

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 default65th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)68th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted65th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted65th

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 G Elko) 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 75 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $2,813 is reasonable (approximately the 65th 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.