Municipal Review Committee Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010468832
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Orono, ME, USA
Phone
2076641700
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Management & Technical Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$716,578
Expenses
$764,914
Assets
$278,803
Liabilities
$118,381

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KAREN FUSSELL (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • AARON HUOTARI (PRESIDENT)
  • MICHAEL CARROLL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL CARROLL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $189,443 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Environmentally sound disposal of its members' municipal solid waste

What it reported doing in 2024

Mrc made significant progress across our organization, from back-office improvements to community engagement, while our partner innovative resource recovery has demonstrated a methodical, thorough approach that strengthens our confidence in this partnership. The mws facility, scheduled to become operational in 2025, will process approximately 180,000 tons of municipal solid waste annually, transforming it into renewable natural gas and recyclable commodities to support Maine's waste diversion objectives. The facility's 2024 progress and our engagement with legislative developments reflect our commitment to leading waste management innovation in Maine, and we look forward to refining our brand, expanding services, and shaping the industry's future in 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 72% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 54% for direct work, and 46% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 80.7%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.7%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.36; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.42; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 24.8%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.4% of revenue deployed · 80.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $617K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $189K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.