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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ringgold Volunteer Fire & Rescue Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 521300114
VA · NTEE M24
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jacob Adkins, Executive Director / CEO ($15,546) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 164 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 79th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

164 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 164 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$27 total compensation of comparable organizations → $143,964 $15,546
$43310th
$92925th
$2,384Median
$8,23175th
$34,34090th
$15,546This org · 79th
p10$433
p25$929
p50$2,384
p75$8,231
p90$34,340
$15,546

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 VA 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
Vestal Fire Department Inc NY$229,649 Recording Secretary $1,000 $964 2023
Anderson Township Perry County Fire Dept Inc IN$229,966 Fire Chief $599 $654 2024
Lake Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department NY$230,088 Vice President $3,554 $3,326 2024
Villas Volunteer Fire Company Inc NJ$230,226 President $1,000 $925 2024
Long Cove Volunteer Fire Department AL$225,080 Employee $128,667 $143,964 2024
Hawtree Volunteer Fire Department Inc NC$224,891 Chief $256 $283 2023
Floyd Romance Volunteer Fire Department AR$224,769 Treasurer $1,313 $1,489 2025
Wellsburg Volunteer Fire Department Inc WV$223,428 Fire Chief $600 $673 2024
Routt County Wildfire Mitigation Council CO$222,467 Executive Director $68,221 $67,750 2024
Flushing Volunteer Fire Department OH$222,384 President $21,975 $24,817 2023
Garretson Volunteer Fire Department SD$234,627 President $1,200 $1,372 2024
Lake Kabetogama Area Vol Fire Dept MN$221,132 Treasurer $3,600 $3,589 2025
Elgin Rural Fire Truck Assn MN$235,476 President $120 $123 2024
Freehold Volunteer Fire Company Inc NY$220,673 President $500 $482 2023
Litchfield County Fire Chiefs Emergency CT$220,415 School Director $6,150 $6,149 2023
Hope Engine Company Number 1 Of White Plains New York NY$220,265 Treasurer $300 $289 2023
Albany Area Volunteer Fire Dep OH$219,413 Fire Chief $390 $417 2025
Western Wayne County Fire MI$237,161 Executive Di $10,200 $11,226 2023
Kittrell Volunteer Fire Department NC$237,641 President $18,290 $19,573 2024
Quinter Ambulance Service Inc KS$238,761 Chairman $29,664 $34,171 2023
Rio Grande Volunteer Fire Co #1 Inc NJ$217,708 President $1,200 $1,110 2024
United Fire Company No 1 NY$239,248 Financial Se $3,000 $2,808 2024
Fishers Island Fire Department NY$216,886 Fire Chief $3,000 $2,808 2024
Fuller Hose Company No 1 PA$240,021 Secretary $400 $426 2023
Melfa Volunteer Fire And Rescu VA$216,290 Fire Chief $5,300 $5,163 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA cost of living and 2024 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 VA 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 default79th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)79th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted80th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted79th

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 (Jacob Adkins) 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 164 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $15,546 is reasonable (approximately the 79th 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.