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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Stone Lake Area Fire Department Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391465699
WI · NTEE M23
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Brad Bates, Executive Director / CEO ($1,116) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 335 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 14th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

335 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 335 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$7 total compensation of comparable organizations → $258,825 $1,116
$77810th
$3,17425th
$14,247Median
$50,19475th
$80,25990th
$1,116This org · 14th
p10$778
p25$3,174
p50$14,247
p75$50,194
p90$80,259
$1,116

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 WI 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
Dade County Firefighters Benevolent Association Inc FL$365,120 President/director $13,339 $11,999 2023
Evansville Police Department Foundation IN$365,346 Executive Director $22,500 $22,067 2024
Northstar Search And Rescue MN$359,769 President $125,000 $114,874 2024
New Jersey Crime Victim Law Center Inc NJ$367,377 Director $111,457 $95,286 2023
Orr's & Bailey Islands Fire Department ME$367,598 Fire Chief $6,749 $6,285 2024
Lanes Creek Volunteer Fire Department Inc NC$367,820 Member-part Time Firefighter $8,340 $8,251 2023
Safe Ride Foundation Inc MD$358,647 Executive Director $39,650 $33,588 2025
Conneaut Lake Volunteer Fire PA$368,647 Director $3,281 $3,133 2023
Tri-county Firesafe Working Group MT$358,014 Former Executive Director $44,398 $45,825 2023
Ridgecrest Volunteer Fire Dept Inc NC$368,905 Chief $9,034 $8,938 2023
Horicon Fire Department Inc NY$357,249 Chief $1,500 $1,298 2023
East Rivanna Vol Fire Company Inc VA$357,056 Treasurer $4,563 $4,098 2024
Huntingdon Valley Fire Co PA$356,660 Treasurer $6,000 $5,565 2024
Missing Kid Alert Dba Gateway For Kids MI$370,048 Director $124,469 $123,016 2023
Blossom Fire Company Inc NY$356,244 President $599 $518 2023
Tree Care Industry NH$356,090 Past Cfo $29,536 $25,365 2024
Cridersville Volunteer Fire Departm OH$355,850 Fire Chief $14,638 $14,845 2023
Delhi Volunteer Fire Department Inc LA$371,331 Fire Chief $40,772 $41,755 2024
New Auburn Area Fire Department Inc WI$353,312 Secretary/treasurer $5,000 $4,857 2024
Olanta Rural Fire Department Inc SC$353,299 Chief $75,842 $71,690 2025
Coastal Alabama Partnership AL$374,253 Executive Director $177,000 $177,844 2024
Darien Center Chemical Fire Company Inc NY$374,264 Treasurer $6,000 $5,191 2023
Bay Shore Fire Department NY$374,451 Chief $5,000 $4,202 2024
South Robeson Rescue Unit Inc NC$374,596 Commander/chief $21,082 $20,259 2024
Ronkonkoma Fire Department Inc NY$351,973 Treasurer $1,200 $1,009 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 WI 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 default14th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted19th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted14th

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 (Brad Bates) 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 335 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (M), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,116 is reasonable (approximately the 14th 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.