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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Toms River Volunteer Fire Company #1

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 222569836
NJ · NTEE M24
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dwayne Gethard, Executive Director / CEO ($600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 95 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

How comparable organizations were selected

95 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 95 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$101 total compensation of comparable organizations → $60,974 $600
$52010th
$75925th
$2,120Median
$6,86675th
$18,35090th
$600This org · 16th
p10$520
p25$759
p50$2,120
p75$6,866
p90$18,350
$600

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.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Brownstown Volunteer Fire CompanyPA $133,120$2,601 990
Elkland Borough Volunteer Fire Department IncPA $134,481$570 990
Alburtis Fire Company No 1PA $131,745$3,705 990
Brooklyn Hose Company No 3PA $135,242$32,170 990
Bethany Volunteer Fire Company IncorporatedNY $135,338$1,180 990
Warrior River Fire & Rescue ServiceAL $130,160$13,329 990
Summit Township Volunteer FirePA $136,277$9,354 990
Hundred Club Of Genesee ShiawasseeMI $137,895$16,844 990
Kern Fire Safe CouncilCA $128,350$25,958 990
Crafton Volunteer Fire DepartmentPA $128,091$1,627 990
St Paul Blvd Fire Association IncNY $138,653$708 990
Auburn Fire Company Ambulance ServicePA $139,575$14,520 990
Burlington Volunteer Fire Department IncCT $125,796$1,050 990
New Stanton Volunteer FirePA $125,745$625 990
North Granville Hose Co IncNY $125,087$6,072 990
Volunteer Engine Company No 2 IncNJ $141,436$486 990
Volunteer Fire Company Of Mill HallPA $142,468$1,251 990
West Tisbury Volunteer Firemen's Civic Association IncMA $143,210$3,019 990
Ramtown-howell Fire Co No2NJ $121,255$291 990
Duval District Volunteer Fire DepartmentWV $145,689$2,120 990
Matamoras Fire DepartmentPA $120,456$391 990
Mount Hope Fire Co No 1NJ $119,512$2,732 990
Montezuma Fire Department IncOH $147,032$1,728 990
Winhall Fire Department IncVT $147,391$10,631 990
Friendship Hose Co 1PA $149,162$4,882 990

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 default16th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)19th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted19th
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 (Dwayne Gethard) 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 95 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $600 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). 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.