Should Peter Burchard get severance?

Absolutely Not!
Mr. Burchard is leaving his Naperville City Manager position voluntarily. He is not entitled to any sort of severance package, especially one that I, as a Naperville resident, would be asked to fund.

Somehow, I don't think people would be talking about this so much if it weren't for the Furstenau situation.

I normally don't think people who resign should get severance, but if there's language to that effect in his contract, the city should live up to it.

No way! As the Sun has reported, severance is normally part of a deal that involves someone being offered the option of being terminated versus resigning. There is way more to this story than meets the eye. What improper behavior has Mr. Burchard been involved in? Why has there been sudden "spin control" to paint Burchard as the ultimate family man? Burchard's open letter re: Furstenau was merely a way to deflect attention away from his "dismissal". The Sun staff needs to drill down and I'm sure this story will get juicier.

Peter Has decided to move on and I see no reason the taxpayers of Naperville should line his departing pocket. He was not fired.

NO! Why is this even in question? Everyone has to weigh the pros and cons before leaving a position. He should make whatever restitution regarding the loan and pay for his own insurance and be GREATFUL he had such good benefits and perks in the first place. Unless he had some type of clause in his contract, wouldn't paying a non-city employee with city tax dollars set a terrible and very expensive precedent?

No way. He moved on to take another job. The City has no obligation to pay him to leave.

No, no a thousand times no.

YES for Peter Burchard. In response to the above response, Mr. Burchard is to be applauded for stepping forward and doing the right thing. He has shown time and again that he is a stand up person. For all of you who are "worried" that you are paying for his severence as a tax payer, think about that when you are cashing in on the massive appeciation amounts that we have seen for our houses. If Peter Burchard had not done such an excellent job leading our community we would not be in such a positive equity position. When you negative people are all enjoying the fine amenities that Naperville has to offer, stop and thank Peter Burchard. Mr. Burchard has given so much of himself to this City and you are all thankless complainers. If "George" the person who made comments about Peter Burchard not being a good family man, you have not see him rush from work to attend his childrens functions. I have never met a finer man than Peter Burchard. George from the commentary above, you are an uninformed fool looking for a bad situtation when there is none.

First of all,he is leaving on his own. He should not receive a package.

Secondly, there is something "fishy" about his situation. I believe that this warrants some type of investigation.

Lastly, his "open letter" is very unprofessional -- throwing a punch, as it were, on the way out.

Mr. Burchard is exercising his right to pursue a severance package as per his contract with the City... If any residents have issue with that, then they need to ask the Mayor and Councilmen why they agreed to that 10 years ago.

NO! The six months of "consulting" is a scam to justify the politicians actions. They are just setting up a precedent that will allow them to get severance in the future all at the taxpayers expense. How sad to see the corruption of Washington DC right here in our own Naperville politicians. Our job as citizens is to voice our concerns and then be sure to vote against anyone supporting this.

Re: Burchard's lucrative goodbye present (cash payout, forgiveness of loan, continuing health coverage) - we might view Councilman Furstenau as a WHISTLEBLOWER trying to expose unethical dealings like this within our city chambers. Instead of censuring him, the city council should be thanking him for getting this crooked deal exposed. How many other sweetheart deals like this exist, just waiting to come public?

Absolutely NOT! He left the job of his own free will. I'm disgusted with our City Council for even entertaining this idea. According to previous news articles it sounds like they have already forgiven him of a $50,000 interest free loan and promised him 6 months of health insurance. For Peter Burchard or the City Council to say this is a private matter and should not be discussed in the public is bull. When you are talking about spending taxpayer dollar to fund his severance package the public has the right to know.
The public has a right to know that our City Council is not acting in the best interest of it’s residents regardless if the funds come from taxpayer dollars or not. No funds should be given to Peter Burchard for leaving this job. When you quit a job voluntarily you cannot expect a severance package. Ten years of service warrants no special consideration. Ten years is not that long. I think previous posters are right, there seems to be more to this then we know. I think Peter Burchard is a coward for writing that letter about Dick Furstenau. IF his accusations (and that’s all they are) are true then I say Peter was a very poor city manager to look the other way for so long. Good riddance Peter.
I can only hope that Naperville residents are paying close attention to the City Council these days as I think they are out of touch with the resident and I for one hope they get voted out. We need a whole new City Council.

Absolutely! Even though Mr. Burchard's title was "City Manager", he was really a CEO. This CEO did a fabulous job running our city and should be compensated the way most CEO's exit their position. It will be very difficult to fill his shoes!

Absolutely not! If Mr. Burchard is leaving voluntarily, it was a choice he made and had control over. Severance pay is "paid to an employee who has tenure and who is dismissed because of lack of work or other reasons beyond the employee's control" according to the dictionary. The fact that he is initiating the leave and asking for this... as well as forgiveness of of a home loan... leaves a very sour taste in my mouth and a real sore spot in my pocketbook! Didn't Mr. Burchard receive a salary during his employment? This sounds like a case of greedy double-dipping, in my opinion.

Absolutely not, he should be fired immediately. I hope a house drops on his head. Good riddance to him.

Why was Burchard given a loan in the first place?

As a Naperville taxpayer I have some suggestions;

Let Burchard leave without severance pay, which he is not entitled to.

Demand that Burchard repay the loan with interest.

Not give Buchard any benefits he is not entitled to.

Hire Dick Furstenau to replace Burchard.

Have Eli Hodapp & Associates (his cats) investigate all aspects of this boondoggle and pester the city officials for answers.

with many wall street ceo's losing billions for share holders and walking away with hundreds of millions, why shouldn't our city ceo get the same perk with costing us billions. private sector pays christmas bonuses all the time, maybe the city should do the same.
merry christmas to all of our devoted employees

He quit, so no absolutely no severance pay. Also he must return the $50,000.00 loan. What other taxpayer in Naperville gets a loan forgiven. For once, stop wasting the taxpayer money.

This is really a silly question and a NO BRAINER....

NO! No! and No!

Amy

Hey Bloggers, do not give out your true identity if you do not in support of Peter's Golden Parachute. Furstenau said no, and within a couple of days, Peter released his 7-page "I hate Furstenau memo" to the world and never mentioned his personal grudge against Furstenau. City Officials are required to "Disclose" any potential conflict of interest whenn acting on the City's behalf.... I just re-read the Peter memo... no disclosure Peter. Peter you broke the law. And, now you're asking for a quarter of million going away prize??? Give me a break.

Bloggers - do not give out your names, or some righteous City Official might just show up to disconnect your electricity, tow your car, or just put drop a letter to Sun saying you beat your wife!!!

If I understand correctly from your article today, when the city hired Burchard he was offered an interest free loan to help with moving expenses, as part of his compensation, and his contract had lanquage to allow for severence pay should he leave his position. I'm sure the city will need his assistance over the next six months to facilitate a smooth transition until a new City Manager is hired. Burchard deserves proper compensation. That's probably why he took the job in the first place. The city should rightly PAY UP!

Regarding J.R. Samples idiotic response. If you think Peter Burchard had anything to do with the appreciation of your current home, which today you can't sell at its appraised amount anyway, you know nothing about the economic development forces that drive a business to relocate from one city to another. The prosperity that Naperville has experienced and the awards that Naperville has been regonized with, would have occurred with or without Peter Burchard at the helm. As a former city employee, I have forgotten a lot more about this subject matter than you will ever know, and I know a lot more about Burchard's "extra-curricular" activity than I care to share in this blog.

Not a chance. I feel he did a great job while he was employed by the city and was payed well for that job. However, his most recent public attack on Dick Furstenau will forever be what he is remembered by. He ought to be ashamed of himself. If councilman Furstenau was in any way inapropriate, it shpuld have been dealt with privately, not via a last jab by a departing employee.
I know Dick Furstenau and I know him as a straight forward, speak his mind type of guy. I respect that and he will again have my vote come re-election time.

No severance! He only worked ten years, not 20 or 30. He is leaving on his own. Also, his loan should be paid back. It was probably loaned on "good faith." Does the word "piker" ring a bell? He is gone and good riddance.

No Severance for Burchard. I like a devil's advocate with no malise and Dick Furstenau displayed this with his conservitive view points. The city should pay his law suite.

Sell that stupid bell tower and throw the money in a sealed booth with Dick F. and Pete B. Turn on a fan and start the money blowing around. They get to keep all the money they can grab within 30 seconds. That is if they don't knock each other out first. What should be done with the left over money?? Respond and let everyone know.

My initial inclination is that we should not be paying Mr. Burchard for his voluntarily leaving the City Manager position; however, not being able to review his contract, none of us can say if the City of Naperville is legally bound to pay him severance for voluntary separation.

It is his right to ask for severance; I would ask our City Council members to exercise our collective right and tell him, "thanks for the great work, we will give you an outstanding reference, but we cannot pay you severance".

No. He quit.

Absolutely Not! I have to agree with the majority of the other comments. When you voluntarily leave a position you are not offered a severance package. I am not privy to the contents of Mr. Burchard's contract however, if he was savy enough to negotiate some type of severance package, on top of a free $50,000 loan, then he does deserve to get what the contract states. City of Naperville, remember what you have learned from this situation, especially when you begin your negotiations with the new City Manager!

Absolutely not. I spent 15 years in municipal government and severance is not granted to someone who leaves voluntarily. Ever. If his resignation was requested, I can see this conversation occurring but in no other circumstance.

I am still confused why the entire City Council and Mayor are not upset at the unprofessional manner our City Manager showed by "airing" his feelings out at the end of his term. It's like saying "hey, you have a problem, but I'm not going to tell you about it until 5 years later." C'mon. If there is a fire, then he should put it out. Not tell the public about it. I think the City and Furstanae should be upset at Bouchard. Professional CEO's who leave companies don't write letters to the public about their Board of Directors in the Wall Street Journal.

If he gets the cash, then I want a job for the city expecting I'll get one when I quit too. Ridiculous!

Absolutely Not. Both Mr. Burchard and Furstenau should be ashamed of themselves for hiring attorneys to seek funds from the taxpayers they allegedly serve because of their inability to work with each other. What kind of example is this for other city employees, city suppliers, and citizens ? Is it any wonder that when one of our childeren loses an IPOD they are quick to file a lawsuit about it ? Unfortunately, this is now one of the behaviors our city is becoming famous for.

I never heard how a City can use taxpayers hard earned money for anything they like without asking for a vote. I think the public needs to check into their pensions and severance packages and see how well they take of themselves. (It should be made public on record). Any job they do for the City you have to remember that they are being well paid for and should work hard for the public. Another thing I feel should be open to the public is all those closed meetings which they hold so often. What is said or done that requires this and not let the people be informed as to what is so secret and going on. I like to know why Mr. Burchard.

The only comments on this blog that support Burchard do so because he did a wonderful job.

Some observations. How can you go wrong with a city in the middle of high development? Well, you can. Everyone is focussing on the departure memo. People are missing the question that Dick asked in November, DO WE REALLY HAVE A $3.5 MILLION DEFICIT AS SHOWN IN THE FINANCIAL REPORTS? Burchard never responded. Instead, he has his Finance Director say the deficit will be ONLY $2 million and it is good to create a deficit to provide the high quality of services.

It does not stop there. A 10% property tax increase for next year after 6.5% this year, the first time you cannot blame the school districts for increasing property taxes in the last 30 years. Inflation and the tax cap is 2.5%. Then to add insult to injury, he raises the increase (no this is not Texas Hold-em) by another $400,000 and blames Dick.

THIS IS WELL MANAGED? I guess we better pay him the severence because we cannot afford for him to stay around. And I hope nobody listens to his advice or taxes and deficits will increase even more!

We have a city manager?? Is he the one who let the building of homes get out of control and our schools overcrowded??

This is crazy! Burchard did his job and was well-paid for it. He and his family partook of all of the amenities of our city. Now, he no longer wants the job so he should no longer be paid for it.

I think that every contract of all city staff (including the Park District and school districts, etc.) should be reviewed so taxpayers can be reasonably aware of potential "separation" costs. Remember the Brissa $100K? Any kind of "bump" at the end of tenures should be prohibited too. Many taxing bodies are playing tug-of-war for our taxpayer dollars. D's 203 and 204, the City of Naperville and downtown businesses, the counties of both Cook (PACE and Metra) and Dupage just to name a few off the top of my head. Uncle already!

There is also the fact that I could never sell my home for what it is assessed for. I am afraid to give my full name because I'm concerned the Assessor would pull up to my house tomorrow morning.
Naperville is not immune to the ups and downs of the national/global economy. As ever, our officials need to diligently pursue fiscal responsibility and learn from the past.

Working for the City of Naperville, with its high level of community involvement and volunteerism, concerned and involved parents/exceptional students, terrific amenities and an abundance of high-caliber talent is sweet enough without special sweetheart deals. Many people want to work here without extra perks anyway.

P.S. Why is the City of Naperville using outside legal counsel? I believe we have staff attorneys. How much did the search for a new Park District Director cost? etc...etc...etc...

Severance? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! Burchard is the one leaving here. He is either a liar or a coward. If his allegations against
Furstenau are true, what type of manager is he if the issues were never addressed? He is a COWARD! If the allegations aren't true, he is a LIAR! Take your pick, he is one or the other.

fyi (fact)

his contract is available to the public. (if we have the right to know what the president of the united states makes from taxpayer money, we certainly have the right to know what peter burchard makes). it states that if he is asked to leave or his contract is not renewed, he has the right to negotiate severance.

it also states that if he leaves voluntarily, he is entitled to NOTHING! no medical extension, no severance pay, and the loan balance goes from 0% to prime +. It does not state that he has the right to negotiate anything.

the council voted to give it to him for who knows why. there was nothing in the contract that they were supposed to live up to. if that upsets you, and i think it should, you should ask the question, which councilman voted to give him what parts.

per the previous blog, i also think a great question is why does the mayor. peter b., and margo ely think all this stuff is private. these are city employees. they are employed by the citizens of naperville. you have the right to know all of it. and the law supports that.

i have watched a large majority of the council meetings during the last several years, and mr. fustenau always asked these types of "why" questions and it noticeably irritated the council. as a result, the rest of the council, the mayor, peter b. and margo ely all hate him.

interesting?

NO, NEVER, A MILLION TIMES, NO! He quit and also admitted (by writting a childish and pedantic 7 page "Dick is a bully" letter) that he could not effectively and professionally manage a councilman with an attitude and opinions different than his own properly.

So why is this cause to pay him off? But of course any council that can approve multimillions for an auto test track that is hardly ever used, would be expected to keep up the "good" work.

I predict that Furstenau will win the first case, and also file another based on the latest council actions. The council needs to apply the money for the severence package instead to a settlement offer WITH APOLOGY to Dick F. or this whole thing is going to blow up in costs and bad press.

It boggles the mind that people say that Burchard's contract provides for the possibility of severance pay, so therefore he should get it. Huh? There is no obligation, just the possibility. This is going to cost the citizens of Naperville a ton of money. I believe Naperville is self-insured, so that means that each and every citizen in Naperville will pay every penny of his recovery costs for the next 6 months. (And isn't it curious that he has surgery on our dime before he decides to resign, while demanding compensation for not working for us anymore.) Even if the city is not self insured, insurance rates are based on experience, so the city's rates will reflect insurance claims Burchard submitted.

Fact is that Burchard has been very well compensated, with raises in excess of inflation, for each and every day he has worked. (And given his medical condition, some he didn't.)

Certainly, if he does some future consulting he should be compensated. But it would appear that he is receiving the equivalent of about 6 months full time pay for 6 months of part time consulting. If he can demonstrate that he secured those kinds of deals with the city's suppliers, I will consider that fair compensation. But full time pay and medical benefits for part time work seems a pretty raw deal for the people who pay the taxes in Naperville. Although, I guess City Council is working at a disadvantage . . . they don't have Peter Burchard negotiating on their behalf anymore.

There is disagreement in the council chambers. Isn't that a good thing? I know that Burchard and Furstenau do the best they can. They, along with the rest of the council, are good hard working people trying to make the right decisions regarding our welfare. What does Burchard's contract say regarding severance? The only "should" regards following the contract and voting to change the laws if we don't like them. Of course Furstenau should be compensated for losing $130,000 in a campaign that a bum rap destroyed. We have the best city in the world because these two upstanding men, as well as the rest of the council, worked to make it so.

If Furstenau's lawsuit against the City and the NPD is so "frivolous" - why is it necessary to spend $400k to defend against it? Could it be true that Peter knows how bad the City looks in that case?

Would that also explain why Peter thought it would be a good idea to trash Furstenau?

City staffers are a bit transparent in their attempt to get rid of one of the only councilmen that hold them accountable.

Furstenau - why don't you add Peter Burchard personally to your suit against the City? He's got nearly a $250k of taxpayer money that you could take away from him in court!!! Now that would be JUSTICE!!!

Pay him. The man deserves every dollar he's asking for. Could you imagine having to listen to all the silver spoon fed whiners in NAPERWORLD each and everyday who feel they are entitled to their every wish just because "I pay taxes". If all you people are so unhappy with living in Naperworld then MOVE. It's that simple. Go to another town and see what services you get for your tax dollar. I'll bet you'll be grateful for what has been provided to NAPERWORLD residents for the taxes you paid.

Michele - are you really this inane? Do you live in this town? No one here is asking for anything - except to avoid having to pay essentially 85,000 in cash, plus 6 months of health insurance to a person voluntarily resigning their position? Honestly, I never found Mr. Burchard to be helpful or understanding. I spent more time one day talking to the Mayor on an issue that by all rights should have landed on Mr. Burchard's desk. I found Peter to be short and, rather vile.

I don't think that anyone is asking for the world. This is the type of behaviour I would expect to see from Mayor Daley and the Chicago City Council. This is not what I expect to see from Mayor Pradel and the rest of our City Council.

Mr. Burchard showed his level of immaturity in his seven page, open air letter. When was the last time you left an employer and aired all of the company's dirty laundry? Presumably never. It isn't professional, it makes you look like a petulant child, and, frankly, an idiot. You buck up, find other employment, and move on. This was uncalled for. If Peter had a problem with Councilman Fursteanu (who, for the record, I don't much care for), they should have solved the issue or simply parted ways - in private. Or, take it up, face-to-face in the council meeting for everyone to see. To launch a going away bomb is poor losing.

Shame on Peter for his behavior - and shame on Mayor Pradel and the City Council for the waste of taxpayer money. What's next? No bid contracts for asphalt and iron fences? What about Naperville's own Hired Truck concept. If we want to pretend were Chicago, then let's go all the way! Maybe Patrick Fitzgerald can focus on DuPage County next.

Wow!!! What a mess!!! What incompetence across the entire city spectrum ??? What wimps that they can not handle debate in council!!! What wimps that they will try to destroy a great councilman by delegating the police to do the nasty work. As many bloggers already indicated similar to unleashing the police after the Napergate man because he was outspoken against city waste in the 1990s...

It is time the City of Naperville matures and realize dissent is good. Not everyone is going to swim downstream with them. There will be people like Mr. Napergate and Mr. Furstenau who insist on swimming upstream. What is wrong with that???

Sam Walton wrote in his book that he enjoying swimming upstream while every else swam downstream. Guess what??? He became the most successful retailer of all times.

Debate bring good ideas!!! It bring fiscal responsibility!!! It brings improvement. We contine to persecute those with different ideas. So obvious from those tons of Napergate ads in the past.
When do we learn!!! We need to leave Furstenau alone and let him be our watch dog and whistle blower. Who cares if he is alone???
He may be right??? The Napergate man was all alone but the courts seem to think he was right and everyone in the city was wrong. This seems like a similar scenario and theme!!!

Yes, and like all the others I think Peter's parachute should be given to Furstenau and a hot air ballon should be given to Peter to send him off to whereever her wants to go... Good riddens to Peter and his nonsensical stupidity...

Attacking a councilman after Peter annouces resignation is sooooooooo
cowardly. We will not miss home!!!

Under his 10 year reign my real estate taxes doubled while inflation did not... So how has he helped in controlling costs!!
He did nothing... Just wasted taxpayer money and recharged the taxpayer all over again the following year. Peter makes me sick.
Excuse me but I feel like vomitting..

Jackson,

I think you were responding to "Dazed & Confused" not me. I agree with you - shame on King Peter.

People shouldn't make this a personal attack on Mr. Burchard. It's the system that's wrong. Whether you're a city manager, school superintendent or park district executive director, compensation and retirement packages are spiraling out of control. We need legislation NOW that caps these ridiculous taxpayer-funded benefits. As for burchard, he's merely taking what he's got coming to him, and what anybody else in the same position would take. You want to criticize anybody, blame the COUNCIL MEMBERS who voted in favor of such a generous buyout.

First of all, what Burchard's getting is a small price to pay for keeping his ten years of experience here while a new manager learns the ropes.

Secondly, for those angry about Burchard's open letter regarding Dick Furstenau, I suggest you actually read the letter and not just rely on the newspaper articles. The letter is detailed and disturbing regarding Furstenau's actions. Also, a reading of the letter shows that it truly was a last resort and only came after numerous meeting with Furstenau, complaints to the City Council, complaints by city employees, and complaints by the police department (both to the State's Attorney and FOP). It's better to read Burchard's letter now rather than sweep one mad man's actions under the rug with delusional conspiracy theories.

Substitute the name Peter Burchard with Ordinary Taxpayer and what they would receive if they quit their job. Anymore questions?

Has the city not been reading this blog??? Sentiment is overwhelmingly against giving Burchard severance and forgiveness of a loan. I sincerely request a review of this type of evpensive, precedent-setting policy of all taxpayer-funded positions by city staff attorneys. This abusive practice on the part of the Naperville City Council needs to be remedied ASAP. C'mon fellow taxpayers-voice your honest opinions now!

I CAN NOT BELIEVE WHAT I AM READING ON THIS BLOG.

IT DOES SOUND LIKE A NAPERGATE OF SORTS ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT GIVING A CITY MANAGER A BALLON PAYMENT FOR VOLUNTARILY RETIRING...NOT FORCED TO RETIRE...NOT FIRED...NOT CANNED...NOT ASKED TO PART...

THERE IS SOME KIND OF A COVER-UP BECAUSE CITY OFFICIALS WON'T TELL US THE TRUTH. MAYBE THEY ARE LYING TO US AND REALLY FIRED BURCHARD BUT WANT HIM TO SAVE FACE IN PUBLIC. THAT WOULD EXPLAIN THE SEVERENCE PAY BUT NOT EXPLAIN WHY THE CITIZENS SHOULD NOT KNOW THE TRUTH OF BURCHARD BEING ALLEGEDLY FIRED AND NOT REALLY RESIGNING..

I HAVE ONLY LIVED IN NAPERVILLE FOR 5 YEARS SO I HAVE NEVER SEEN THESE NAPERGATE ADS BLOGGERS HAVE REFERRED TO.

HOWEVER, I WISH THAT PERSON WOULD HAVE NOT TAKEN THAT NICE CATCHY TITLE TO DESCRIBE THE PAST AS IT SEEMS LIKE IT DESCRIBES THE PRESENT MORE APPROPRIATELY...

CAN ANYONE SHED MORE LIGHT OF THE NAPERGATE OF THE PAST? I WOULD LIKE TO GET A BIT MORE INFORMATION AS I FEEL LOST AS A RELATIVE NEWCOMER TO NAPERVILE!

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELP FROM ANY BLOGGER...

When does the insanity stop? I grew up in this town and I am not satisfied with the rate of growth in this city that schools, Metra parking, and the city's infrastructure have been ill-equipped to deal with. The lack of planning demonstrates that those in charge are clearly lacking in being able to responibly cope with our city's needs.
I think our City Council and our Mayor need to take a good, hard look and do some real housecleaning. That's their job. Our taxes have risen at warp speed. Our schools are overcrowded. District 204 now needs yet another high school. And the spending needs to be audited; it is through the roof and negligent.
The fact that Peter Burchard brought these 'facts' to the public's eye on his way out the door raises a lot of questions. Were these concerns ever brought up at City Council meetings? Were they addressed with the Mayor? If not, this is just unprofessional mud-slinging at it's worst.
And PB is leaving our city. Why? He had his surgery while he was employed by our city. Now he wants medical coverage continued after he VOLUNTARILY leaves his current position and is asking the city for a severance package as well as foriveness of a loan?!?! If he gets it, I can no longer afford to live in the city I grew up in. If he gets it, I want a job working for the City of Naperville! It has even better benefits than Congress!

The dissapproval re the city council's actions is clearly overwhelming.

Realistically, is there any way to put the PB severance agreement on hold?

If that is not possible now, what can be done to ensure that it doesn't happen again (and again and again...) and won't be used as a precedent or grandfathered in to future negotiable severance packages?

Overwhelmingly, on this blog anyway, Peter Burchard gets NO severance and must complete his loan repayment. Well, I’m real curious to see what da maier and the “boys” on da council decide. Anyone think he won’t get severance?

By the way, if he has been doing his job as well as some would indicate, his replacement should NOT require any hand holding to quickly get up to speed.

And Marty, please quit yelling.

Jay, I'll throw in my $1.00 for Burchard. I'll even throw in my $8.00 to fight Furstenau's suit. I consider the $1.00 well spent, and the $8.00 the cost of living in a free country where the likes of Councilman Furstenau have a right to file suits of this kind regardless of their impact on us taxpayers.

Absolutely Not!

We should ALL be asking the questions of A)Why our Council is giving interest free loans and B)Why they are forgiving those loans.

I am outraged by their careless hiring actions & fiascos. I don't care how good he was (and not very given he allowed all of hat nasty alleged bullying of his staff and never utterred a word about it), he quit and that is where the applicability of a severance package ends.

Overwhelmingly, on this blog anyway, Peter Burchard gets NO severance and must complete his loan repayment. Well, I’m real curious to see what da maier and the “boys” on da council decide. Anyone think he won’t get severance?

And Marty, please quit yelling.

Posted by: Jim | December 11, 2007 03:31 PM

---------------------------------------------------

Sorry Jim,
I did not know I was yelling! I was just writing! Actually did not know you can yell while writing. I always thought writing was silent. But I will tone it down if that is what you meant. I can't but help be upset after reading all the blogs above me.

Marty.

Jay,

I agree with you. We should, at a minimum, put the PB severence on hold until Furstenau finishes his lawsuit against the City. If the City loses, then we can use part of the PB severence to pay Furstenau. After all, it was under Peter's leadership that the City decided that they could not simply appologize to Furstenau for the heavy handed police action against him. An appology, when the police failed to prove their case, would have been a lot cheaper.

Michelle B.
Sounds like you have a lot of important inside information. Do you mean Furstenau is suing the city in retaliation for not receiving an apology from the city regarding the police incident? If that is true, how small and petty can a man be to cause all these unnecessary problems by pursuing this nuisance suit against the city and taxpayers? Just because he didn't get an apology? It sounds very vindictive. Who is the "we" you mention? PB's benefits are not a public referendum. It is a city personnel matter based on a contract drawn up 10 years ago, and voted on by City Council. Interesting Furstenau had his lawyer question PB's benefits after PB's open letter detailed examples of Furstenau's misconduct. Could it be revenge? Furstenau wants to save taxpayers $1.00, and let them pay $8.00? How fiscally responsible is that? Many of PB's disclosures confirmed what many of us in the public witnessed. Furstenau deserves censure at the least for that behavior, NOT PB's money, and if he doesn't resign, "we" will hopefully see a recall election. He may be a great family man, and he may have done good things, but his misconduct is not behavior befitting a public servant. 80% calling for his resignation can't all be wrong.

southwest,

furstenau is suing because he was framed over something that didn't take place.

burchard contract is also a matter of public record. anyone who wants to find out the details can. the city purposely left pb's request a secret. they knew it had to be made public eventually, but they chose not to release anything until after they voted on it.

Marty, using upper case letters is the "silent" way of yelling. Believe me I understand your frustration when attempting to secure facts from even local government. How Mr. Burchard being rewarded with severance is somehow in debate is beyond me but apparently it is. I find it amazing just how often politicians and lawyers end up discernibly rewarded and with a “smile”.

Although at times comments in this forum get perhaps a little too personal and sometimes stray from the subject I am indeed gratified to read the apparent conviction and concern of so many citizens. It is absolutely essential that the people retake control of not just their local government but also that at the State and Federal levels. We are ever increasingly allowing ourselves to become politically correct "sheeple", being controlled rather than controlling our lives.

The Constitution does not allow nor proscribe for the level of intrusion we now so blithely and unquestioningly permit today. Under the guise of “we know what’s best for you” we have permitted government to enter our schools, cars and our businesses interrupting order and often prohibiting lawful activities. The point is we must all be more involved, exercising greater vigilance and control over the innocent sounding whims of government. When government does not wish to listen we must unremittingly prove to them that it is the citizen that is in control of both our lives and our government.

God Bless and have a Merry Christmas everyone!

tom w. I know what Furstenau claims. I was responding to Michelle B.'s assertion that an apology to Furstenau would have been cheaper than paying to fight his law suit. If an apology would have averted this, it tells me it is a "bully" suit. I want to see the videotape that shows nothing happened. As another blogger mentioned previously, should O.J Simpson be suing California to recapture his losses because he was found not guilty, and "framed"? I agree, with that blogger. It IS that stupid.

Anonymous -

If OJ Simpson had been an elected offical that had repeatedly tried to reign in the spending of the California police agency that pursued OJ's conviction, your analogy might make sense.

C'mon, anonymous, every single allegation made against Furstenau has been made by some paid city employee that Furstenau has challeged based on their job performance or their budget. I dare you to find a single exception. If Furstenau was really as bad as some one like you to think, don't you feel that there would be some "normal citizens" filing complaints? Give me something more than whining beurocrats if you can.

As to the apology, I believe that Furstenau would have accepted it. It would have been the right thing for the City to do given the facts and his public record.

This is ridiculous! The only things that should be paid are those that are guarenteed in his contract and then let's start asking questions of those who approved the contracts and the loans.

anonymous

in the oj case, the two people who were murdered weren't fictitious or made up. there was strong evidence against oj. therefore he wasn't framed of shammed.

in furstenau's case, the strike against the officer was made up and fictitious. there were several witness who told the investigating officer that they saw the whole thing and nothing happened. they arrested furstenau completely based on the testimony of officer hull, ignoring the eye witnesses. 18 months later when it came time to testify, hull refused and the city couldn't produce a witness who could back hull's story. as a result they asked for the bench trial where no witnesses were necessary and furstenau was acquitted. even hull wouldn't testify against furstenau.

these circumstances are very different from oj's. furstenau isn't implying that he was framed because he was found innocent. he is suing because the investigation ignored eye witness testimony and they charged him with no evidence to back their own story. the only eveidence they had was hull's testimony, and he back off when it came time to take the stand. not to mention the fact that hull was instructed to change the details of the report he filed so that it would match the circumstances given by eye witnesses.

Note to T.B. about the last comment you posted. I'm also a moderator of this forum and - under no circumstances - will profane or obscene language be tolerated. So, if you want to opine, then fire away. But keep it clean.

Furstenau does have the right to sue the city, however, the city also is in a must-defend situation as it would set a bad precedent to settle with anyone who happens to win their acquittal. After all, though the judge ruled in Furstenau's favor, he also stated that the NPD officer did nothing wrong. Hardly a convincing argument for being framed.

when the judged said the officer did nothing wrong, he was referring to the incident itself; he wasn't speaking, in anyway, about the investigation that followed. the investigation wasn't on trial, mr. furstenau was.

the suit furstenau has filed is about the sham investigation that followed the incident. that started when hull failed to file a report about the "incident" until 5 days later.

the investigation and arrest are what is on trial now. we'll see if hull on others did nothing wrong in regard to that when it goes to court. but remember, the judge wasn't referring, in anyway, to the investigation when he said hull did nothing wrong.

Tom W.,

Hull's filing of a police report 5 days late IS part of the investigation. But the judge went even further and stated that “It’s obvious the incident occurred….First of all, there’s no wrong or inappropriate behavior shown by Officer Hull. In fact, he probably demonstrated restraint.” If an "incident" occurred and the officer (as opposed to the Councilman) demonstrated restraint, then there absolutely was probable cause to bring this case. Furstenau just happened to win. Good for him. That doesn't mean this was some huge conspiracy against him. It's more likely that the NPD is sick of his tirades and felt that he had crossed the line this time.

To Jim L,,

My apologies and I'll refrain from the obvious puns on Richard's less formal name.

Jim Lynch,

Thanks to the Sun for posting the "Should Burchard Get a Severence?" Vote on your homepage. From the early results, Burchard's is actually fairing worse than Furstenau.

Well we all have a chance to say our peace. Everybody has done well here. As stated maybe Peter did get fired, really sounds like it. His palace is crumbling and the little weasel is gone. We the taxpayers owe him nothing! He was paid for his services by many......... DICK called a spade a spade and had Peters number for years. Sorry DICK is under the gun too, but I thing he over did it with the lawsuit, he now looks as bad a Burchard and this severance stuff. Politicians - never trust them at all.

In the corporate world, severance payments are made in exchange for a signed legal "release of claims" from the former employee. The only reason a payment is made when someone leaves on a voluntary basis is because the company wants to avoid the cost of a potential lawsuit; i.e., it believes the employee has some basis for legal action.

Also, Burchard's allegations have been thoroughly investigated and found valid before any vote of "censure" for Furstenau related to those claims. I haven't seen anything about this in the Sun.

kudos congrats thanks jim,your last post was a blast of fresh ,powerful sunlight.We can all do our best and pray.I have never seen this large numbers of interested and informed bloggers at this site. If you did not read Jim's last post you owe it to yourself to go back TWELVE (sorry) spaces.MERRY CHRISTMAS to all.

It looks more & more like Peter quit because he believes that Furstenau's lawsuit will uncover damning evidence against the City Manager's office. Rats always jump from a sinking ship.

Unfortunately, if Council approves the severence package this Tuesday night, it looks like Peter will be living large down south, with a pocket full of Naperville Taxpayer's money, when the truth finally comes out.

I think City Council should "freeze" any potential payout to Peter Burchard until Furstenau's lawsuit is concluded. If Furstenau wins a nickle, Burchard gets zip. Please explain to me why this would not be a prudent financial decision.

Mr. Q:

Thank you very much for the kind sentiments. It is my hope that people finally begin to understand the scope and reflect on our changing compass that certainly affirms our decline as a republic.

I am very much disturbed when I see people complain knowing that the voter turnout in non-presidential elections averages about 15%. We all must do what we can to educate and activate the average citizen into not just being concerned, but to also becoming energized about advancing the character of our Village, City, County, State and Country governments.

We must never forget:

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." –Edmund Burke

Michele B:

You know I agree with hoping there can be a freeze of some sort until more facts are brought to light. Altho only a few people probably know the real truth, why can't some restraint be used NOW. We are responsible, rational adults right?

Obviously taxpayers are concerned. Again I ask, what can taxpayers, 15% or whatever percentage cares to be involved, do NOW?

It may sometimes be a fine, practical choice, but there is something so demoralizing about the city making a decision and moving on with no regard to all this dissent. I am personally dismayed that the City of Naperville could be so cynically compared with the characterization of "da mayor and da council".

I say we double Burchard's severance. After all, money is no object here in Naperville, and our illustrious City Council leaders certainly lack the backbone required to be principled and withhold money Burchard was never entitled to in the first place. Give the man what's not his due I say! This is Naperville (formerly a Money Magazine #2 town). Go ahead and raise our taxes. It's only $____ per $400,000 home.

Wonderfully observant comment Mike. We all realize that Mr. Bouchard will soon need severance to survive, having now quit his job, and we all know that the “City Council” can certainly afford to pay it, so what’s the problem?

And as our concerned politicians would express it, any cost involved when amortized over its term will only cost the taxpayer about one cup of "staryucks" a week. Now it is only the uninformed or hardhearted that would refuse paying such a minimal amount don’t you think?

PREPARE TO SHARE! Mr. Bouchard needs your money more than you do.

I cannot believe our City Council people can jump to get rid of one of their own without a trial or proven guilt. No one ever mentioned anything was wrong until Peter wrote his seven page letter. How can you quit a job and ask for money back when you never even paid back the loan. What City Council members have the right to take our money and give it to Burchard without a vote by the people whose money it really belongs to. I think the public needs to take away the home rule so we can be more in control of what is happening to our money and wasteful spending, loans, and pensions they write out to fill their pockets.

If there is something in Peter's contract that entitles him to money, pay it. If it's not required, don't. Pete, pay back the 0% interest 'loan'. That's our money.

Now, for DF. Mr. F, in the corporate world, there is a code of conduct. Your employee handbook also stipulates a code of conduct. The council acted properly to recognize documented breaches in that code of conduct. Time and time again, you seem to be stuck on the justification of the Ends justifying the means. If the way in which you do things is wrong along the way, the ends really don't matter because you have no character to stand on when you get there. As was pointed out, years ago this type of behavior in the workplace to one another was overlooked and it seemed like 'no big deal, suck it up and get over it, sissy'. Not anymore. Years ago, drinking and driving was no big deal. Years ago domestic abuse was overlooked as no big deal. The fact is that it is a big deal and the Council acted appropriately to take action. In fairness, this should have happened a while ago instead of letting the complaints pile up. The city has to cover its collective butt in doing something about the complaints. Take the slap on the wrist for what it is and just change the way in which you interact with people. Keep being a taxpayer advocate, keep up the good work personally helping people go through the process of city govt to get their end results but be more respectful to fellow employees as you do it. This past type of behavior may seem to you like your baseline 'normal'. You've been officially informed that it's not 'normal' nor 'appropriate' for our city.

Change your tune and I may vote for you again in the future. Don't change your tune, and you've lost my support forever.

Joe is off his personal opinion soapbox.

i think yes my dad is very responsible