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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Paxtonia Fire Company

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 236296939
PA · NTEE M24
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Larry Stepansky, Executive Director / CEO ($12,000) 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 89th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Larry Stepansky — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO 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

$500 total compensation of comparable organizations → $39,817 $12,000
$77010th
$1,87325th
$3,706Median
$5,92575th
$13,00990th
$12,000This org · 89th
p10$770
p25$1,873
p50$3,706
p75$5,925
p90$13,009
$12,000

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
Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Company PA$432,068 Fire Chief $1,800 $1,800 2024
Stroud Township Volunteer Fire PA$429,485 Treasurer $2,400 $2,400 2024
Swedesburg Volunteer Fire Company PA$427,580 Board Member $18,740 $19,294 2023
West Chester Volunteer Firemans PA$446,136 President $5,850 $5,850 2024
Goodwill Fire Co No 1 Of York Twp PA$448,641 Co-treasurer $3,206 $3,206 2024
Shoemakersville Fire Company No 1 PA$416,935 President $15,062 $15,062 2024
Lamott Fire Company No 1 PA$467,417 Trustee $2,126 $2,126 2024
Moon Twp Volunteer Fire Co PA$401,749 Treasurer $4,150 $4,150 2024
Mansfield Hose Company PA$469,849 Treasurer $900 $927 2023
Mountain Top Fire Company Inc PA$393,046 Vice President $7,134 $7,134 2024
Derry Twp Vol Fire Dept Of Bradenville PA$383,797 Treasurer $500 $500 2024
Haverford Township Volunteer PA$488,912 Treasurer $4,000 $4,000 2024
Northampton Township Volunteer Fire Relief Association PA$378,327 Treasurer $2,275 $2,275 2024
Blossburg Volunteer Fire Department PA$491,559 Treasurer $2,625 $2,703 2023
Belmont Hills Fire Company PA$498,280 Financial Se $4,500 $4,500 2024
Conneaut Lake Volunteer Fire PA$368,647 Director $3,281 $3,378 2023
Springboro Volunteer Fire PA$506,579 President $3,840 $3,840 2024
Huntingdon Valley Fire Co PA$356,660 Treasurer $6,000 $6,000 2024
Volunteer Fire Company Of Mt Lebanon Inc PA$346,736 President $666 $666 2024
Pocono Mountain Volunteer Fire Company PA$341,708 Fire Chief $1,500 $1,544 2023
Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Dept PA$318,223 Trustee $1,643 $1,692 2023
Washington Fire Company Community PA$551,211 President $9,644 $9,929 2023
Friendship Fire & Hose Co 1 Of PA$552,686 Treasurer $4,200 $4,200 2024
East Mead Volunteer Fire Company No 1 PA$312,458 Manager Of Operations $38,675 $39,817 2023
Clintonville Volunteer Fire PA$311,761 Treasurer $3,000 $3,089 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 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 default89th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)89th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted89th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted89th

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 (Larry Stepansky) 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 (M24) + PA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,000 is reasonable (approximately the 89th 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.