Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Signal Hill Fire Protection

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 376031781
IL · NTEE M24
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Wayne Lindauer, Executive Director / CEO ($1,194) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 183 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 26th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Wayne Lindauer — reported title “BOARD MEMBER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

183 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 183 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$26 total compensation of comparable organizations → $141,391 $1,194
$46310th
$1,16425th
$3,759Median
$16,16975th
$39,41890th
$1,194This org · 26th
p10$463
p25$1,164
p50$3,759
p75$16,169
p90$39,418
$1,194

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 IL 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
Cord Volunteer Fire Department Inc AR$272,906 Secreatary/treasurer $1,280 $1,507 2023
Greensburg Fire Dept Board Of Control PA$272,197 President - Station #6 $25 $26 2023
Lizton Union Township Hendricks Cou IN$274,066 Trustee $24,941 $26,753 2024
Lake Placid Volunteer Fire NY$270,494 Deputy Secre $2,500 $2,298 2024
Lawrence Park Volunteer Fire Department PA$275,652 Treasurer $2,800 $2,840 2024
Grimesland Volunteer Fire Dept NC$269,468 Treasurer $2,400 $2,457 2025
Cambridge Fire Company Inc VT$276,680 Chief $4,079 $4,299 2023
Ausable Forks Fire Department Inc NY$277,098 President $500 $473 2023
Grafton Volunteer Fire Department ND$267,554 Fire Chief $5,510 $6,151 2024
Richardton Firemen's Auxiliary ND$267,191 Gaming Manag $4,900 $5,329 2025
East Grand Lake Volunteer Fire MI$278,640 Chief $1,900 $2,054 2023
Lubbock Fire Educators Inc TX$266,954 President $33,105 $33,684 2024
Webster Volunteer Fire Department Inc NY$279,416 Treasurer $9,440 $8,933 2023
Dell Rapids Volunteer Fire SD$265,855 Chief $3,600 $4,160 2023
Citizens Hook & Ladder Co No 1 PA$265,819 Financial Trustee $6,000 $6,086 2024
Bexar County Emergency Services Districts Association TX$280,000 Executive Director $17,150 $17,966 2023
Mastic Chemical Company No 1 Inc NY$265,484 Treasurer $1,500 $1,379 2024
Canajoharie Volunteer Firefighters Inc NY$281,037 Treasurer $500 $460 2024
Altavista Volunteer Fire Company Inc VA$264,056 Director & Chief $5,640 $5,539 2024
Williamstown Volunteer Fire Company Inc WV$263,052 Fire Chief $132 $150 2023
Safety First Volunteer Fire Co PA$283,305 Steward $33,120 $34,588 2023
South Haven Firemens Relief Association MN$283,323 Treasurer $1,200 $1,206 2024
Valley Stream Fire Dept Inc NY$261,037 Maint Chairman $2,400 $2,149 2025
Tri Clover Fire Company PA$260,691 President $1,580 $1,650 2023
Bachelors Hall Volunteer Fire VA$259,408 Treasurer $1,200 $1,179 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL cost of living and 2024 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 IL 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 default26th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)22nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted29th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted26th

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 (Wayne Lindauer) 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 183 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,194 is reasonable (approximately the 26th 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.