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replacing PT superJan 10, 2010


Hi AR,
We have a pt super who is paid $450 a month for 12 apts. He lives far away and is not handy in terms of being hired by tenants to make small repairs they would pay for. Sometimes we need someone to let vendors in for repairs and he can't be depended upon to do that. We get many sanitation tickets for the curbs not being swept of debris in the mornings. We've identified interested super replace,ent candidates who are live in supers on the block, and willing and able to do more than the current one does for the same money. Now some board members are feeling badly firing him "until he finds another job." Is this reasonable? And, is paying $450 a month for someone to bag garbage three times a week, clean the halls of a brownstone once a week, and nothing else reasonable? Thanks for your advice.

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Re: replacing PT super - ~AR Jan 10, 2010


The price you are paying is certainly fair for the tasks required.

As you have discovered, there are many qualified people out there willing and able to take it on...

(I am assuming this is not his primary source of income)

Do they realize that they are paying the citations, added costs because of inattention to the boiler on a daily basis and an all around derogation of services? What if there is an accident and lawsuit because the sidewalk was not cleaned in a timely manner?
This amounts to much more than just $450 per month in aggregate.

I would feel bad also since it is obviously not an adversarial layoff, but you have to think of your bottom line and make that priority. Possibly once you have someone lined up, give him a parting gift to ease the pain...

Hopefully after about a month, he will have been forgotten when they are singing praises of the new hire...

Just to summarize.. feeling bad is a good and humane emotion, but as a Board member,make decisions in a fiduciary manner...

Happy New Year

~AR

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> Join the conversation Comments (1)
Replacing Super pt. 2 - boardone Jan 10, 2010


Thanks, AR. I'll pass on your insights to my board. Just curious: what daily duties does a super normally have with regard to the boiler? I'd like to add that to the list of duties we will need to draw up.


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