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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southwest Region Ems & Trauma

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 910045281
WA · NTEE E62
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Zita Wiltgen, Executive Director / CEO ($33,905) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 37 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 73rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

37 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 37 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$185 total compensation of comparable organizations → $120,834 $33,905
$94010th
$1,99525th
$15,460Median
$35,47275th
$50,15590th
$33,905This org · 73rd
p10$940
p25$1,995
p50$15,460
p75$35,472
p90$50,155
$33,905

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 WA 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
Tusten Volunteer Ambulance Service NY$209,106 Captain $69,875 $70,524 2024
Community Ambulance Service Of MT$211,461 President $675 $792 2025
Chestnut Ridge Ambulance Assoc PA$204,193 Manager $30,334 $32,916 2025
B Holding Group Foundation Inc GA$203,665 Executive Di $38,210 $44,180 2023
Deuel County Ambulance Inc SD$203,516 President $150 $185 2024
Durant Ambulance Service Inc IA$215,447 President $347 $437 2023
Fair Lawn Borough Volunteer NJ$202,735 Trustee $1,500 $1,540 2023
Montfort Rescue Squad Inc WI$202,523 Chief $1,907 $2,224 2024
Walhalla Ambulance Service ND$201,685 President $26,053 $32,878 2023
Potosi Rescue Squad Inc WI$193,676 Chief $3,190 $3,721 2024
North Wayne Ambulance Service IL$192,487 Sec/treas Asst Coordinator $18,835 $21,293 2023
Fennimore Area Rescue Squad Inc WI$226,423 Chief $9,678 $11,289 2024
Maddock Ambulance Service ND$235,487 President $2,311 $2,759 2025
Bennetts Valley Ambulance Association PA$182,295 Manager $35,443 $39,478 2024
Jackson Twp Emergency IN$246,841 President $1,553 $1,829 2024
Pleasant Plains First Aid Squad In NJ$251,113 Treasurer $4,069 $4,177 2023
Port Canaveral Marine Firefighting Training Academy Inc FL$253,279 Program Director $83,705 $87,830 2024
Dobson Rescue Squad Inc NC$164,927 Secretary-treasurer $1,775 $1,995 2025
Bergenfield Volunteer Ambulance Corp Inc NJ$254,463 Deputy Chief $15,503 $15,460 2024
Millerstown Ambulance League PA$255,842 Treasurer $9,585 $10,991 2023
Stanley Civil Defense Rescue NC$258,898 1st Sergeant $18,200 $21,004 2024
Tionesta Ambulance Service Inc PA$260,800 Director $48,297 $53,795 2024
Fox Township Ambulance Association Inc PA$262,402 Manager $13,050 $14,536 2024
Cavalier Hook And Ladder Society ND$262,507 Treasurer/gaming Manager $21,000 $26,500 2023
Orbisonia Rockhill Emergency Medical Service PA$265,620 Secretary $40,819 $45,466 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default73rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)73rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted76th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted73rd

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 (Zita Wiltgen) 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 37 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (E62), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $33,905 is reasonable (approximately the 73rd 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.