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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Gaines Trace Water District

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 640604340
MS · NTEE Y22
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kerry Mitchell, Executive Director / CEO ($396) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 17 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 12th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Kerry Mitchell — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

17 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 17 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$200 total compensation of comparable organizations → $26,486 $396
$43510th
$82925th
$6,131Median
$11,71475th
$16,75590th
$396This org · 12th
p10$435
p25$829
p50$6,131
p75$11,714
p90$16,755
$396

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 MS 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
South Kamas Irrigation Company UT$154,509 Secretary $10,630 $10,027 2024
New Escalante Irrigation Company UT$147,158 President $500 $485 2023
Atlanta Water Association Inc MS$137,303 President $360 $360 2025
Granada Water Association CO$165,084 Secr Treas $16,900 $14,935 2024
Mountain Lakes Water & Sewer GA$170,394 President- P $600 $572 2023
Clark Shores Water Corporation MA$130,712 President $3,160 $2,694 2023
Hogan Water Corp IN$130,135 President $200 $200 2023
Janice Water Association Inc MS$173,236 President $7,625 $7,827 2024
Valley Water Supply Corp TX$128,209 Sec/treasurer $12,000 $11,389 2023
Penasco Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association NM$127,309 Director $26,719 $26,486 2024
Nibley Blacksmith Fork Irrigation UT$175,314 President $6,500 $6,131 2024
Hemmi Road Water Association Inc WA$181,043 President $1,031 $829 2025
Waterworks District #1 Of Morehouse LA$185,816 President $2,250 $2,284 2024
Trinity Knolls Mutual Water Company CA$107,270 Chairman $15,225 $12,117 2024
Lw Sewer Company MO$200,481 Plant Operator $12,000 $11,714 2024
Linville Haile Water System Inc LA$203,428 Secretary $19,200 $19,485 2024
Henry's Fork Groundwater District ID$205,459 Chairman $6,150 $6,030 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MS cost of living and 2025 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 MS 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 default12th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted18th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted12th

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 (Kerry Mitchell) 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 17 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Y22), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $396 is reasonable (approximately the 12th 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.