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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Duluth Firefighters Mutual Aid Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 411793445
MN · NTEE M41
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of David J Torgerson, Executive Director / CEO ($31,262) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 100 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 83rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: David J Torgerson — reported title “BOOKKEEPER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

100 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 100 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$11 total compensation of comparable organizations → $530,958 $31,262
$34410th
$58225th
$2,141Median
$12,03775th
$57,15390th
$31,262This org · 83rd
p10$344
p25$582
p50$2,141
p75$12,037
p90$57,153
$31,262

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
West Wyoming Vol Hose Co 1 PA$89,790 President, Board Member $2,100 $2,059 2024
Ramsey Volunteer Fire Department NJ$90,193 President $599 $526 2024
Stonington Volunteer Fire Company PA$90,200 Fire Chief $200 $202 2023
River Vale Volunteer Fire Dept Assoc Inc NJ$89,488 Treasurer $4,400 $3,862 2024
Dale Borough Fire Company PA$90,459 President $18,888 $19,062 2023
Lignite Volunteer Fire Dept ND$91,226 Secretary/treasurer $5,000 $5,394 2024
Lakeland Volunteer Fire Department MN$91,816 Training Office $213 $213 2023
Kendall Fire Department Inc NY$87,748 Treasurer $1,000 $888 2024
Mooney Aircraft Pilots Association Safety Foundation Inc MA$92,371 President $1,700 $1,501 2024
Ellendale Fire Department Relief MN$92,855 President $599 $582 2024
Georgia Association Of Realtors GA$93,549 Ceo $26,163 $26,623 2023
Wantage Township First Aid Squad NJ$94,228 President $1,500 $1,355 2023
Good Will Fire Company Of Bridgeport Pa PA$94,439 President $4,470 $4,382 2024
Monterey Firefighters Community CA$84,620 Ceo $3,000 $2,547 2024
Trafford Fire Company 1 PA$84,553 President/ch $595 $600 2023
Paynesville Fire Department Relief MN$96,167 Treasurer $2,400 $2,400 2023
Strafford Firemen's Association And VT$97,820 Fire Chief, $2,500 $2,547 2023
High Country Fire-rescue AZ$97,954 Fire Chief $19,105 $18,595 2023
Terryville Fire Department Inc NY$98,159 Treasurer $3,000 $2,743 2023
Hanover Area Volunteer Fire And PA$98,703 Treasurer $2,267 $2,222 2024
Good Will Fire Department Inc NY$80,576 Secretary $1,500 $1,332 2024
Illinois Realtors Relief Foundation IL$80,193 President $549,419 $530,958 2024
National Coalition For Safer Roads TX$80,013 President $60,000 $58,998 2024
Gun Violence Intervention PA$100,000 Project Dire $143,857 $141,020 2024
Somers Volunteer Fire Departmen Inc NY$79,825 President $1,000 $888 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 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 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 default83rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)83rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted84th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted80th

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 (David J Torgerson) 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 100 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (M), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $31,262 is reasonable (approximately the 83rd 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.