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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Watford City Volunteer Fire Dept

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 472846216
ND · NTEE M24
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dave Uhlich, Executive Director / CEO ($10,892) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 185 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 74th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

185 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 185 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$23 total compensation of comparable organizations → $123,032 $10,892
$41210th
$1,16625th
$3,620Median
$13,29575th
$32,04690th
$10,892This org · 74th
p10$412
p25$1,166
p50$3,620
p75$13,295
p90$32,046
$10,892

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 ND 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
Factoryville Fire Company PA$299,732 Treasurer $3,600 $3,271 2023
Penderlea Fire Department NC$300,834 Assistant Chief $175 $160 2024
Town Of Carlton Fire Company No 1 Inc NY$301,023 President $480 $384 2024
Primos-secane-westbrook Park Fire PA$297,704 President $17,640 $15,570 2024
Clarendon Fire Company Inc NY$301,735 President $500 $400 2024
International Assoc Of Fire Fighte CT$302,461 Board Member $7,000 $5,809 2024
Three Oaks Emergency Vehicle Association MI$303,482 Administrator/director $82,286 $75,174 2024
Sellersburg Vol Fire Dept IN$303,586 Board Member $65,943 $61,550 2024
C B S Fire Association IA$304,432 Treasurer $285 $276 2024
Morrisvale Volunteer Fire Department Inc WV$304,798 Treasurer $6,000 $5,602 2025
Eldridge Volunteer Fire Co Inc IA$306,212 President $2,140 $2,074 2024
Buffalo Springs Lake Volunteer TX$291,987 President $2,772 $2,527 2023
Fountain Rural Fire Association Inc NC$306,965 President $156 $147 2023
Gnesen Volunteer Fire Department Inc MN$291,786 Gambling Manager $15,560 $14,010 2023
Devils Lake Volunteer Fire Dept ND$307,857 Secretary $1,200 $1,166 2024
North Franklin Township Volunteer PA$290,795 President $2,380 $2,163 2023
Prichard Volunteer Fire Department WV$308,090 Fire Chief $33,265 $32,820 2023
Amity Community Volunteer Fire IN$308,429 Board Member $1,950 $1,820 2024
Mendon Fire Department Inc NY$289,747 President $1,200 $988 2023
State Firemens And Fire Marshals TX$309,675 Exec Director $16,807 $15,320 2023
Mountain View Volunteer Fire NC$310,079 Chief $1,186 $1,056 2025
Rye Volunteer Firefighters Inc NY$288,373 Chief/secretary $1,200 $960 2024
Southwest Ranches Volunteer Fire Rescue Inc FL$310,895 President Fire Chief $19,800 $16,463 2024
The Voluntown Volunteer Fire Company CT$311,097 President $12,448 $10,330 2024
Clintonville Volunteer Fire PA$311,761 Treasurer $3,000 $2,726 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ND 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 ND 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 default74th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)71st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted74th

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 (Dave Uhlich) 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 185 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $10,892 is reasonable (approximately the 74th 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.