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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

High Country Fire-rescue

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 263019629
AZ · NTEE M24
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Robert Trotter, Executive Director / CEO ($19,105) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 60 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: Robert Trotter — reported title “Fire Chief”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

60 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 60 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$11 total compensation of comparable organizations → $29,865 $19,105
$21810th
$53525th
$1,262Median
$2,97475th
$12,48690th
$19,105This org · 93rd
p10$218
p25$535
p50$1,262
p75$2,974
p90$12,486
$19,105

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 AZ 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
Strafford Firemen's Association And VT$97,820 Fire Chief, $2,500 $2,616 2023
Terryville Fire Department Inc NY$98,159 Treasurer $3,000 $2,819 2023
Ellendale Fire Department Relief MN$92,855 President $599 $598 2024
Goose Rocks Beach Fire Company ME$103,096 President $500 $506 2024
Tiltonsville Volunteer Fire Department OH$103,257 Fire Chief, Vice President $3,604 $3,969 2023
Marble Rock Community Fire Company Inc IA$103,331 President $10 $11 2024
Property Owners League Fire Company NJ$103,482 Secretary $225 $203 2024
Lumberton Fire Company No 1 NJ$103,763 President $2,775 $2,576 2023
Lakeland Volunteer Fire Department MN$91,816 Training Office $213 $219 2023
Farmingville Fire Dept Benevolent Association NY$104,658 Treasurer $5,000 $4,564 2024
Dale Borough Fire Company PA$90,459 President $18,888 $19,585 2023
Stonington Volunteer Fire Company PA$90,200 Fire Chief $200 $207 2023
Ramsey Volunteer Fire Department NJ$90,193 President $599 $540 2024
Oklahoma Civilian Defense Fire Company PA$106,063 Treasurer $600 $622 2023
West Wyoming Vol Hose Co 1 PA$89,790 President, Board Member $2,100 $2,115 2024
Wilmot Volunteer Fire Company NH$106,384 Chief $500 $467 2024
River Vale Volunteer Fire Dept Assoc Inc NJ$89,488 Treasurer $4,400 $3,968 2024
Reinbeck Farmers Fire Association IA$106,621 President/none $50 $56 2024
Kendall Fire Department Inc NY$87,748 Treasurer $1,000 $912 2024
Wading River Fire Dept NY$110,167 Secretary $2,100 $1,973 2023
Monterey Firefighters Community CA$84,620 Ceo $3,000 $2,616 2024
Trafford Fire Company 1 PA$84,553 President/ch $595 $617 2023
Springfield Firemens Relief Assoc MN$111,448 Secretary $1,800 $1,849 2023
Community Fire Co Of Pavilion Inc NY$113,359 Treasurer $1,200 $1,096 2024
Chippewa Township Vfd PA$113,480 President $500 $504 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ 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 AZ 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)95th
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 (Robert Trotter) 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 60 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $19,105 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.