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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Dale Borough Fire Company

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 251040801
PA · NTEE M24
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lisa Howard, Executive Director / CEO ($18,888) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 59 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 93rd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

59 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 59 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$11 total compensation of comparable organizations → $35,774 $18,888
$20910th
$51525th
$1,057Median
$2,72975th
$8,84890th
$18,888This org · 93rd
p10$209
p25$515
p50$1,057
p75$2,729
p90$8,848
$18,888

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
Stonington Volunteer Fire Company PA$90,200 Fire Chief $200 $200 2023
Ramsey Volunteer Fire Department NJ$90,193 President $599 $521 2024
West Wyoming Vol Hose Co 1 PA$89,790 President, Board Member $2,100 $2,040 2024
River Vale Volunteer Fire Dept Assoc Inc NJ$89,488 Treasurer $4,400 $3,827 2024
Lakeland Volunteer Fire Department MN$91,816 Training Office $213 $211 2023
Ellendale Fire Department Relief MN$92,855 President $599 $577 2024
Kendall Fire Department Inc NY$87,748 Treasurer $1,000 $880 2024
Monterey Firefighters Community CA$84,620 Ceo $3,000 $2,523 2024
Trafford Fire Company 1 PA$84,553 President/ch $595 $595 2023
Strafford Firemen's Association And VT$97,820 Fire Chief, $2,500 $2,523 2023
High Country Fire-rescue AZ$97,954 Fire Chief $19,105 $18,425 2023
Terryville Fire Department Inc NY$98,159 Treasurer $3,000 $2,718 2023
Good Will Fire Department Inc NY$80,576 Secretary $1,500 $1,320 2024
Somers Volunteer Fire Departmen Inc NY$79,825 President $1,000 $880 2024
Sidney Fire Department Inc NY$78,010 Treasurer $950 $861 2023
Goose Rocks Beach Fire Company ME$103,096 President $500 $488 2024
Tiltonsville Volunteer Fire Department OH$103,257 Fire Chief, Vice President $3,604 $3,828 2023
Marble Rock Community Fire Company Inc IA$103,331 President $10 $11 2024
Property Owners League Fire Company NJ$103,482 Secretary $225 $196 2024
Lumberton Fire Company No 1 NJ$103,763 President $2,775 $2,485 2023
Farmingville Fire Dept Benevolent Association NY$104,658 Treasurer $5,000 $4,401 2024
Maynard Fire Relief Association MN$74,904 Vice Preside $4,000 $3,849 2024
Oklahoma Civilian Defense Fire Company PA$106,063 Treasurer $600 $600 2023
Wilmot Volunteer Fire Company NH$106,384 Chief $500 $450 2024
Reinbeck Farmers Fire Association IA$106,621 President/none $50 $54 2024

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 default93rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)92nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted95th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted93rd

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 (Lisa Howard) 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 59 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $18,888 is reasonable (approximately the 93rd 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.