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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Blossom Fire Company Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237386755
NY · NTEE M24Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Derkovitz, Executive Director / CEO ($599) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 28 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 21st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

28 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 28 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$200 total compensation of comparable organizations → $12,896 $599
$48010th
$94725th
$1,846Median
$4,99375th
$7,07290th
$599This org · 21st
p10$480
p25$947
p50$1,846
p75$4,993
p90$7,072
$599

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 NY 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
Horicon Fire Department Inc NY$357,249 Chief $1,500 $1,500 2023
Ronkonkoma Fire Department Inc NY$351,973 Treasurer $1,200 $1,166 2024
Old Forge Volunteer Fire Department Inc NY$348,275 Secretary Treasurer $5,400 $5,400 2023
Darien Center Chemical Fire Company Inc NY$374,264 Treasurer $6,000 $6,000 2023
Bay Shore Fire Department NY$374,451 Chief $5,000 $4,857 2024
Huntington Manor Volunteer Fire NY$327,323 Chief $1,800 $1,748 2024
Kings Park Fire Department Inc NY$318,169 Secretary $6,000 $5,828 2024
Potsdam Volunteer Fire Department NY$316,461 Warden $300 $284 2025
Clarendon Fire Company Inc NY$301,735 President $500 $486 2024
Town Of Carlton Fire Company No 1 Inc NY$301,023 President $480 $466 2024
Pittsford Volunteer Fire NY$416,878 Chief $2,065 $2,006 2024
Merrick Volunteer Fire Department Inc NY$417,894 Secretary $2,000 $2,000 2023
The Saint James Fire Department Incorporated NY$420,150 Treasurer $13,277 $12,896 2024
Mendon Fire Department Inc NY$289,747 President $1,200 $1,200 2023
Rye Volunteer Firefighters Inc NY$288,373 Chief/secretary $1,200 $1,166 2024
White Springs Fire Association Inc NY$427,043 Treasurer $9,100 $8,839 2024
Canajoharie Volunteer Firefighters Inc NY$281,037 Treasurer $500 $486 2024
Webster Volunteer Fire Department Inc NY$279,416 Treasurer $9,440 $9,440 2023
Ausable Forks Fire Department Inc NY$277,098 President $500 $500 2023
Lake Placid Volunteer Fire NY$270,494 Deputy Secre $2,500 $2,428 2024
Mastic Chemical Company No 1 Inc NY$265,484 Treasurer $1,500 $1,457 2024
Valley Stream Fire Dept Inc NY$261,037 Maint Chairman $2,400 $2,271 2025
Windsor Fire Company Inc NY$258,763 President/captain $1,000 $971 2024
Gerry Volunteer Fire Department Inc NY$257,078 President $200 $200 2023
Wantagh Fire Department NY$249,513 Recording Secretary $6,500 $6,314 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default21st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)21st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted25th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted21st

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 (Paul Derkovitz) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 28 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24) + NY + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $599 is reasonable (approximately the 21st 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 10, 2026.