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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Utopia Volunteer Emergency Medical Services Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 742614838
TX · NTEE E62B
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rhonda Garofano, Executive Director / CEO ($37,299) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 72 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 54th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Rhonda Garofano — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

72 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 72 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$19 total compensation of comparable organizations → $88,072 $37,299
$1,45810th
$9,21325th
$31,699Median
$54,56175th
$68,87390th
$37,299This org · 54th
p10$1,458
p25$9,213
p50$31,699
p75$54,561
p90$68,873
$37,299

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 TX 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
Ayden Rescue & Ems NC$477,829 Chief $14,629 $15,111 2024
Souhegan Valley Ambulance Service Inc NH$474,326 Chief Operating Officer $65,542 $62,287 2023
Portage Area Ambulance Association PA$473,679 Board Member $2,695 $2,687 2024
Glover Ambulance Squad Inc VT$480,537 President $68,450 $68,875 2024
Eureka Volunteer Ambulance Service Inc MT$483,308 Treasurer $23,132 $24,927 2024
Wise Rescue Squad Inc VA$469,734 1st Lieutenant $51,338 $51,017 2023
Eyota Volunteer Ambulance Service MN$484,936 Secretary $9,915 $9,794 2024
Woodbury Ambulance Association Inc CT$491,901 President $13,863 $12,994 2024
Norton Rescue Squad Inc VA$501,908 Lieutenant $45,031 $44,750 2023
Linville Central Rescue Squad Inc NC$449,566 Member $14,082 $14,171 2025
Grifton Rescue Squad Inc NC$505,866 Assistant Ch $37,838 $39,085 2024
Jamesville Community Ems & Rescue NC$444,840 President $25,286 $26,119 2024
Sunny View Fire And Rescue NC$510,786 Director $36,347 $36,577 2025
Cameron County Ambulance Service Inc PA$441,108 Executive Director $52,524 $53,909 2023
Warren Area Ambulance Service Inc IL$513,615 President $87 $86 2024
Advanced Medical Transport Of Iowa IL$513,788 Treasurer/secretary/ceo Phmms $20,283 $20,523 2023
Johnsonville Rescue Squad And Ambulance SC$515,845 Chief $50,884 $53,068 2024
Ansonia Area Emergency Servicesinc OH$435,497 Chief $19,025 $20,739 2023
New Glarus Emergency Medical Services In WI$435,036 Executive Dir. $73,910 $77,165 2024
Lakeshore Volunteer Ambulance Inc NY$521,014 Director Of Operations $55,875 $50,474 2024
Ash-rand Rescue Squad & Ems Inc NC$522,116 Executive Di $53,144 $56,516 2023
Argyle Emergency Squad Inc NY$429,472 Vice President $1,500 $1,395 2023
Brooks Ambulance Inc ME$418,835 President $48,151 $48,201 2024
Troy Volunteer Ambulance MT$534,953 President $33,898 $37,607 2023
Mcmullen County Emergency Services TX$535,131 Treasurer $60,000 $61,772 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default54th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)54th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted54th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted51st

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 (Rhonda Garofano) 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 72 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (E62), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $37,299 is reasonable (approximately the 54th 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.