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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southern Cove Ems

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 232913634
PA · NTEE E62
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Harold Zimmerman, Executive Director / CEO ($5,591) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 20 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Harold Zimmerman — 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

20 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 20 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$162 total compensation of comparable organizations → $326,765 $5,591
$50010th
$1,23725th
$2,951Median
$28,92075th
$40,82390th
$5,591This org · 55th
p10$500
p25$1,237
p50$2,951
p75$28,920
p90$40,823
$5,591

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 PA 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
Kickapoo Valley Rescue Squad Inc WI$145,813 Secretary $1,000 $1,047 2023
Riceville Ambulance Service Inc IA$137,658 President $2,558 $2,658 2025
Manasquan First Aid Squad NJ$123,706 Corr. Secre. $500 $435 2024
St Mary Emergency Medical Services PA$123,561 Smmc President Thru 7/22 $326,765 $326,765 2023
Dobson Rescue Squad Inc NC$164,927 Secretary-treasurer $1,775 $1,741 2025
Reynoldsville Area Ambulance A PA$110,762 President $5,720 $5,720 2023
Bennetts Valley Ambulance Association PA$182,295 Manager $35,443 $34,426 2024
Mt Hope Ems Inc KS$103,327 Service Dire $1,200 $1,300 2023
Wheatland Emergency Medical Service IA$96,686 President $488 $507 2025
North Wayne Ambulance Service IL$192,487 Sec/treas Asst Coordinator $18,835 $18,568 2023
Potosi Rescue Squad Inc WI$193,676 Chief $3,190 $3,244 2024
Walhalla Ambulance Service ND$201,685 President $26,053 $28,670 2023
Montfort Rescue Squad Inc WI$202,523 Chief $1,907 $1,940 2024
Fair Lawn Borough Volunteer NJ$202,735 Trustee $1,500 $1,343 2023
Deuel County Ambulance Inc SD$203,516 President $150 $162 2024
B Holding Group Foundation Inc GA$203,665 Executive Di $38,210 $38,526 2023
Chestnut Ridge Ambulance Assoc PA$204,193 Manager $30,334 $28,704 2025
Tusten Volunteer Ambulance Service NY$209,106 Captain $69,875 $61,499 2024
Southwest Region Ems & Trauma WA$209,197 Executive Director $33,905 $29,566 2024
Community Ambulance Service Of MT$211,461 President $675 $691 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA cost of living and 2023 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 PA 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)55th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted55th

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 (Harold Zimmerman) 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 20 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (E62), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $5,591 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.