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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Niwot Ditch Company

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841534997
CO · NTEE W80
FY ending 2022-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Robin Engen, Executive Director / CEO ($2,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 20 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 15th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

20 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 20 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$352 total compensation of comparable organizations → $68,559 $2,500
$1,86610th
$6,48525th
$16,216Median
$25,89775th
$31,92490th
$2,500This org · 15th
p10$1,866
p25$6,485
p50$16,216
p75$25,897
p90$31,924
$2,500

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 CO 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
Marsha Water Supply Corporation TX$212,265 President $32,435 $31,572 2024
Groom Creek Water Users Association AZ$225,386 Officeoperations Mangr Past $37,500 $35,094 2024
Prairie Village Water Trust WI$231,474 Trustee $3,200 $3,252 2024
Northwest Turfgrass Association WA$232,382 Executive Director $32,515 $29,163 2023
Trenton Water Users Cooperative ND$235,707 President $2,390 $2,552 2024
Lake Pillsbury Properties CA$177,382 Director $31,276 $25,602 2025
Southwest Wayne Water Assoc Inc MS$238,996 President $325 $352 2024
Los Tules Mutual Water Company CA$239,926 Director $28,700 $24,115 2024
Graham East Water Supply Corp TX$241,562 Secretary $18,354 $17,865 2024
Brady County Water District MT$162,462 Secertary / Treasurer $12,003 $12,590 2024
Pine Hill Water System Inc LA$161,605 Secretary $11,963 $12,818 2024
Lorena-lemon-burns Water Association MS$254,198 President $600 $650 2024
Ptda Foundation IL$261,016 Executive Director $27,174 $26,764 2023
White Oak Shores Sewer Service Corporation TX$147,166 Secretary/treasurer $7,770 $7,563 2024
Mettler Valley Mutual Water Co Inc CA$145,149 Secretary $16,838 $14,566 2023
Suncoast Utility Contractors Association Inc FL$288,574 Executive Director $75,000 $68,559 2024
Alabama Water System Inc LA$288,757 Director $23,900 $25,608 2024
Roosevelt Lake Ranch Water System WA$290,518 President $15,750 $14,127 2023
North Tallahatchie Water Assn Inc MS$302,881 Secretary/treasurer $19,940 $21,610 2024
Acme Water Company Inc UT$306,348 President $2,010 $2,001 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO cost of living and 2022 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 CO 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 default15th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted20th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted15th

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 (Robin Engen) 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 20 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $2,500 is reasonable (approximately the 15th 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.