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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Warrior River Fire & Rescue Service

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 631282186
AL · NTEE M24
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Chaney, Executive Director / CEO ($11,341) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 87 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

87 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 87 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$10 total compensation of comparable organizations → $37,916 $11,341
$25010th
$52525th
$1,304Median
$3,63775th
$10,07990th
$11,341This org · 91st
p10$250
p25$525
p50$1,304
p75$3,637
p90$10,079
$11,341

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 AL 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
Alburtis Fire Company No 1 PA$131,745 Financial Secretary $3,415 $3,152 2024
Kern Fire Safe Council CA$128,350 Vice Chair $27,633 $22,087 2024
Crafton Volunteer Fire Department PA$128,091 Chief $1,500 $1,385 2024
Brownstown Volunteer Fire Company PA$133,120 Director $2,329 $2,214 2023
Toms River Volunteer Fire Company #1 NJ$133,149 Treasurer $600 $511 2023
Elkland Borough Volunteer Fire Department Inc PA$134,481 Chief - Firehall; Secretary - Relief $25 $23 2024
Burlington Volunteer Fire Department Inc CT$125,796 Treasurer $1,000 $894 2023
New Stanton Volunteer Fire PA$125,745 President $560 $533 2023
North Granville Hose Co Inc NY$125,087 Treasurer $6,000 $5,167 2023
Brooklyn Hose Company No 3 PA$135,242 Secretary $28,802 $27,372 2023
Bethany Volunteer Fire Company Incorporated NY$135,338 Treasurer $1,200 $1,004 2024
Summit Township Volunteer Fire PA$136,277 Financial Sec/tresurer $8,622 $7,959 2024
Hundred Club Of Genesee Shiawassee MI$137,895 Executive Di $15,000 $14,331 2024
St Paul Blvd Fire Association Inc NY$138,653 President $500 $431 2023
Ramtown-howell Fire Co No2 NJ$121,255 President $300 $248 2024
Auburn Fire Company Ambulance Service PA$139,575 President $13,000 $12,354 2023
Matamoras Fire Department PA$120,456 Secretary $350 $332 2023
Mount Hope Fire Co No 1 NJ$119,512 President $2,813 $2,325 2024
Volunteer Engine Company No 2 Inc NJ$141,436 President $300 $248 2024
Volunteer Fire Company Of Mill Hall PA$142,468 Treasurer $1,120 $1,064 2023
West Tisbury Volunteer Firemen's Civic Association Inc MA$143,210 President $1,500 $1,284 2023
Cape May Point Volunteer Fire NJ$117,068 President $9,287 $7,675 2024
Hop Bottom Hose Company PA$115,849 Secretary $600 $554 2024
Duval District Volunteer Fire Department WV$145,689 Treasurer $1,800 $1,804 2024
Deerfield Volunteer Fire Company I NY$113,918 Secretary $600 $502 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AL 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 AL 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)90th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted92nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted91st

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 (Michael Chaney) 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 87 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $11,341 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.