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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

New Jersey State Firemens Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237081547
NJ · NTEE M60
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Eck, Executive Director / CEO ($1,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 83 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 39th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

83 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 83 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$12 total compensation of comparable organizations → $587,615 $1,000
$25010th
$60025th
$2,125Median
$9,88675th
$74,07290th
$1,000This org · 39th
p10$250
p25$600
p50$2,125
p75$9,886
p90$74,072
$1,000

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 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
Wv Voluntary Organizations Active WV$78,599 Executive Di $72,881 $85,847 2024
Sidney Fire Department Inc NY$78,010 Treasurer $950 $961 2023
Somers Volunteer Fire Departmen Inc NY$79,825 President $1,000 $983 2024
National Coalition For Safer Roads TX$80,013 President $60,000 $65,294 2024
Illinois Realtors Relief Foundation IL$80,193 President $549,419 $587,615 2024
Good Will Fire Department Inc NY$80,576 Secretary $1,500 $1,475 2024
Mine Hill First Aid Squad Inc NJ$76,161 President $9,900 $9,368 2025
Maynard Fire Relief Association MN$74,904 Vice Preside $4,000 $4,300 2024
Trafford Fire Company 1 PA$84,553 President/ch $595 $665 2023
Phoenix Fire Engine Company No 2 PA$72,444 Recording Se $500 $558 2023
The Vanlue Fire Department Inc OH$72,436 Chief $1,500 $1,728 2024
Monterey Firefighters Community CA$84,620 Ceo $3,000 $2,818 2024
Peel Fire Protection District AR$70,765 Fire Chief $1,200 $1,468 2024
Kendall Fire Department Inc NY$87,748 Treasurer $1,000 $983 2024
Makinen Volunteer Fire Department MN$68,682 Chief $1,100 $1,182 2024
Malibu Foundation CA$68,574 Executive Dir. $134,000 $125,879 2024
River Vale Volunteer Fire Dept Assoc Inc NJ$89,488 Treasurer $4,400 $4,274 2024
West Wyoming Vol Hose Co 1 PA$89,790 President, Board Member $2,100 $2,279 2024
Duluth Firefighters Mutual Aid Association MN$89,945 Bookkeeper $31,262 $34,598 2023
Ramsey Volunteer Fire Department NJ$90,193 President $599 $582 2024
Stonington Volunteer Fire Company PA$90,200 Fire Chief $200 $223 2023
Us Resiliency Council CA$66,690 Executive Dir. $165,000 $159,578 2023
Hoola Ia Mauiakama Disaster Long HI$66,687 Executive Di $10,654 $10,377 2024
Dale Borough Fire Company PA$90,459 President $18,888 $21,096 2023
Ghent Firemen's Relief Association MN$66,359 President $100 $107 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 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 default39th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)36th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted45th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted39th

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 (Michael Eck) 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 83 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (M), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,000 is reasonable (approximately the 39th 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.