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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Waterfront Rescue Mission

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 311480651
FL · NTEE M23I
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Clay Romano, Executive Director / CEO ($30,627) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 39 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 74th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

39 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 39 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$102 total compensation of comparable organizations → $151,665 $30,627
$30310th
$57025th
$1,469Median
$29,79875th
$76,13690th
$30,627This org · 74th
p10$303
p25$570
p50$1,469
p75$29,798
p90$76,136
$30,627

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 FL 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
Schroon Lake Volunteer Fire Department Inc NY$46,502 Secretary/treasurer $7,500 $7,007 2024
Nyc Medics NY$48,826 Executive Director $94,337 $90,742 2023
Yorkshire Volunteer Fire Department VA$50,952 Treasurer $4,200 $4,317 2023
Winona Volunteer Fire Department MO$51,147 President $830 $909 2024
Silver Bay Firefighters MN$42,906 Treasurer $500 $511 2024
Confluent Health Employee KY$42,694 President/director $43,862 $50,163 2023
Mission Township Fire Fighters Reli MN$52,600 President $240 $245 2024
Wesley Fire Department Inc IA$42,145 Fire Chief/p $635 $740 2023
Hill City Firemen's Relief Associat MN$42,089 Gambling Man $46,050 $48,437 2023
Home Building Industry Disaster Relief DC$53,020 Secretary $79,890 $72,485 2024
D Disaster Helping Hand Inc TX$40,677 President $39,821 $42,402 2023
Thornwood Fire Co No 1 NY$54,202 President $200 $192 2023
Watkins Fireman's Relief Association MN$54,967 President $300 $306 2024
Remer Volunteer Firemens Relief MN$39,080 Chair $3,315 $3,487 2023
Safeguard Iowa Partnership IA$56,198 Executive Director $85,280 $99,397 2023
St Paul Volunteer Fire Department IN$37,444 Fire Chief $500 $561 2023
Bound Brook Fire Department NJ$37,283 Treasurer $1,200 $1,108 2024
Brooktondale Volunteer Fire Co Inc NY$57,882 President $300 $289 2023
Texas Association Of Realtors Disaster TX$36,381 President/chief Executive $45,181 $48,109 2023
Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department Inc IN$34,854 President $797 $895 2023
Kenyon Fire Relief Association MN$59,974 Treasurer $550 $579 2023
Westbrook Firemens Relief Assoc MN$34,622 Gambling Manager $15,200 $15,529 2024
Greenwood Lake Volunteer Fire NY$60,771 Secretary $599 $560 2024
Central Lakes Community Organization And MN$61,523 Treasurer $900 $919 2024
Firemens Protective Association CT$61,547 Treasurer $3,000 $2,908 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default74th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted90th

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 (Clay Romano) 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 39 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (M), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $30,627 is reasonable (approximately the 74th 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.