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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southeast Library System

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 411399086
MN · NTEE B71C
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Krista L Ross, Executive Director / CEO ($33,420) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 18th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Krista L Ross — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

33 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 33 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,268 total compensation of comparable organizations → $116,382 $33,420
$25,27010th
$40,66625th
$48,486Median
$59,21975th
$67,67990th
$33,420This org · 18th
p10$25,270
p25$40,666
p50$48,486
p75$59,219
p90$67,679
$33,420

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 MN 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
South Butler Community Library PA$263,324 Library Director $45,500 $47,135 2024
Clairton Public Library PA$241,323 Executive Dir. $55,264 $57,250 2024
Fort Plain Free Library NY$240,174 Director $51,652 $48,486 2024
Oxford Memorial Library NY$267,033 Director $23,721 $21,693 2025
Scottdale Public Library PA$269,598 Library Dire $59,292 $63,236 2023
Schoolcraft Community Library MI$270,614 Director $55,494 $57,968 2025
Montour Falls Memorial Library NY$233,751 Library Director $38,659 $37,361 2023
The Southworth Library Association NY$275,155 Executive Director $56,178 $54,292 2023
Webster Memorial Library MI$275,359 President $6,000 $6,268 2025
Annie Lee Thompson Library Trust Fund TX$223,606 Ceo $47,544 $49,404 2024
The Detroit Public Library Friends MI$221,854 Exec Director/board President $108,542 $116,382 2024
Minoa Free Library NY$284,438 Director $42,079 $40,666 2023
Lakewood Memorial Library NY$214,711 Library Dire $68,069 $63,896 2024
Paris Public Library Association ME$296,529 Library Director $55,825 $56,572 2025
Waldoboro Public Library ME$298,475 Executive Director $42,238 $45,234 2023
Grove City Community Library PA$207,191 Interim Dire $23,997 $24,859 2024
Friends Of The Salt Lake City Public UT$206,160 Sales Manager $55,129 $57,102 2025
Dimmick Memorial Library PA$204,697 Director $44,340 $45,933 2024
The Greater Cincinnati Library Consortiu OH$203,100 Executive Director $60,203 $68,195 2023
Springdale Free Public Library Inc PA$192,770 Director Administrator $57,165 $59,219 2024
Clark Memorial Library RI$187,786 Director $40,821 $41,863 2023
Jeannette Public Library Assoc PA$185,595 Executive Di $25,980 $26,913 2024
Mountain Top Library NY$185,274 Director $37,128 $35,881 2023
Southeast Regional Library System Serls OH$181,677 Director/facility Manager $89,012 $100,829 2023
Windsor Public Library VT$179,645 Librarian/director $41,902 $43,812 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN cost of living and 2025 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 MN 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 default18th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)18th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted97th

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 (Krista L Ross) 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 33 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B71), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $33,420 is reasonable (approximately the 18th 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.