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

Decorah Volunteer Fire Department

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 421502005
IA · NTEE M24
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jeff Clement, Executive Director / CEO ($778) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 113 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 29th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jeff Clement — reported title “CHIEF”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

113 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 113 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$22 total compensation of comparable organizations → $123,310 $778
$35810th
$58525th
$1,413Median
$5,46575th
$17,53990th
$778This org · 29th
p10$358
p25$585
p50$1,413
p75$5,465
p90$17,539
$778

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 IA 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
Eagle Fire Engine & Hose Company No 1 2 NY$160,506 President $100 $83 2023
Spencerport Volunteer Firemens Assoc Inc NY$164,917 President $2,000 $1,651 2023
Goshen Volunteer Fire Department NC$165,526 President $786 $720 2024
Port Jefferson Volunteer Firemens Benevolent Association Inc NY$155,788 Secretary $750 $619 2023
Gale Hose Co No 1 Inc PA$167,151 Billing/privacy Officer & Chief 10-70 $6,000 $5,465 2023
Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Company NJ$167,729 President $717 $585 2023
Whitelaw Volunteer Fire Department WI$153,308 President $1,808 $1,675 2024
Cottage Grove Vol Fire Department WI$169,568 President $4,030 $3,844 2023
York Beach Volunteer Fire Dept ME$151,575 Treasurer/captain $2,250 $1,947 2025
Granville Rural Fire Department NC$170,290 Board Member $1,215 $1,147 2023
Hilton Fire Department NY$151,132 Board Treasurer $9,975 $7,996 2024
Silver Creek Volunteer Fire Department WI$171,764 President $1,525 $1,413 2024
Fire Services Training Institute CA$172,244 Executive Dir. $20,000 $15,320 2024
Friendship Hose Co 1 PA$149,162 Vice President $4,500 $3,981 2024
Orange County Rural Vfd District 1 IN$172,578 Fire Chief $9,600 $9,246 2023
Bradley Gardens Volunteer Fire Company Inc NJ$172,869 Secretary $600 $475 2024
Winhall Fire Department Inc VT$147,391 Chief $9,709 $8,669 2024
Springs Fire Department Inc NY$174,314 Chief $1,500 $1,238 2023
Montezuma Fire Department Inc OH$147,032 Fire Chief $1,500 $1,409 2024
Grand Mound Volunteer Fire Company IA$175,138 1st Asst Chi $1,250 $1,250 2023
Northwest Rockingham County Fire Protection Association Inc NC$175,710 Treasurer $3,589 $3,205 2025
Duval District Volunteer Fire Department WV$145,689 Treasurer $1,800 $1,729 2024
Marion Volunteer Fire Department SD$177,200 Fire Chief $500 $490 2024
West Tisbury Volunteer Firemen's Civic Association Inc MA$143,210 President $1,500 $1,231 2023
Volunteer Fire Company Of Mill Hall PA$142,468 Treasurer $1,120 $1,020 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IA 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 IA 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 default29th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)28th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted30th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted29th

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 (Jeff Clement) 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 113 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $778 is reasonable (approximately the 29th 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.