Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Amy Hartson, Executive Director / CEO ($24,301) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 158 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended
Benchmarked executive: Amy Hartson — reported title “MANAGER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.
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 IA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manor Volunteer Fire Department | PA | $213,195 | President | $240 | $224 | 2024 |
| Option Independent Fire Company Of | PA | $212,217 | President | $480 | $462 | 2023 |
| Lake Dalecarlia Volunteer Fire Depa | IN | $214,937 | Chief | $1,250 | $1,324 | 2022 |
| White Plains Volunteer Fire Department Inc | NC | $215,185 | Secretary/treasurer | $6,000 | $5,662 | 2025 |
| Mountain Park Volunteer Fire Department Inc | NC | $216,005 | Treasurer | $1,475 | $1,392 | 2025 |
| Melfa Volunteer Fire And Rescu | VA | $216,290 | Fire Chief | $5,300 | $4,674 | 2025 |
| Fishers Island Fire Department | NY | $216,886 | Fire Chief | $3,000 | $2,541 | 2024 |
| Cranbury Fire Company Inc | NJ | $207,874 | Treasurer | $400 | $335 | 2024 |
| North Middleton Township Volunteer | PA | $207,824 | Trustee Thro | $2,074 | $1,996 | 2023 |
| Rio Grande Volunteer Fire Co #1 Inc | NJ | $217,708 | President | $1,200 | $1,005 | 2024 |
| Monticello Fire Department Inc | NY | $206,137 | Treasurer | $1,200 | $1,046 | 2023 |
| Albany Area Volunteer Fire Dep | OH | $219,413 | Fire Chief | $390 | $377 | 2025 |
| Hope Engine Company Number 1 Of White Plains New York | NY | $220,265 | Treasurer | $300 | $262 | 2023 |
| Litchfield County Fire Chiefs Emergency | CT | $220,415 | School Director | $6,150 | $5,565 | 2023 |
| Freehold Volunteer Fire Company Inc | NY | $220,673 | President | $500 | $436 | 2023 |
| Lake Kabetogama Area Vol Fire Dept | MN | $221,132 | Treasurer | $3,600 | $3,249 | 2025 |
| Flushing Volunteer Fire Department | OH | $222,384 | President | $21,975 | $22,464 | 2023 |
| Routt County Wildfire Mitigation Council | CO | $222,467 | Executive Director | $68,221 | $61,325 | 2024 |
| Branch Volunteer Fire & Rescue Inc | WI | $202,352 | President | $860 | $842 | 2024 |
| Jot-um-down Vol Fire Dept In | NC | $202,091 | Chief | $700 | $661 | 2025 |
| Wellsburg Volunteer Fire Department Inc | WV | $223,428 | Fire Chief | $600 | $609 | 2024 |
| Floyd Romance Volunteer Fire Department | AR | $224,769 | Treasurer | $1,313 | $1,348 | 2025 |
| Hawtree Volunteer Fire Department Inc | NC | $224,891 | Chief | $256 | $256 | 2023 |
| Long Cove Volunteer Fire Department | AL | $225,080 | Employee | $128,667 | $130,310 | 2024 |
| Waynesboro Volunteer Fire Department Inc | PA | $198,913 | Treasurer | $500 | $481 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IA cost of living and 2025 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 IA 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 91st |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 91st |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 91st |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 90th |
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.
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
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.