Resigning Naperville manager getting severance package
Resigning Naperville City Manager Peter Burchard has attorneys negotiating a severance package that includes cash, health coverage and forgiveness of an interest-free $50,000 loan given to him by the city, sources say.
Severance packages usually are offered when an employee is fired or laid off, but Burchard is leaving the city to take a full-time job in the health-care field. He argues that health problems are forcing him out and he is entitled to some type of severance payout, according to three city officials who asked not to be identified but are familiar with the negotiations.
Burchard is recovering from his second back surgery in as many years.
The council, meeting in closed session, informally agreed to forgive the loan and continue paying for health care, but not pay out any cash, the sources said. Burchard initially had asked for a year's salary, roughly $175,000.
The council's offer stipulated that the health care coverage would be extended for six months and the loan would be forgiven if he remained in a "sort of consultant" capacity for six months during the transition of a new city manager, a source said.
On Friday, Burchard's lawyers sent a response to the council's offer agreeing to the terms, but requesting an additional $32,000 cash pay-out. The council was expected to discuss the matter further in closed session at Tuesday's meeting.
During open session Tuesday, a resident complained about the proposed severance agreement.
"Since when does a city official get a golden parachute?" asked Chris Devane.
But another resident, James Cavanaugh, instead urged City Councilman Richard Furstenau to resign.
Burchard's attorneys at the Naperville firm of Kuhn, Heap and Monson did not return calls seeking comment. Calls to City Attorney Margo Ely also were not returned.
The same day Burchard's lawyers responded to the council's offer, the outgoing city manager dispatched a lengthy letter critical of Furstenau to elected officials and media outlets. Burchard's letter accuses Furstenau of consistently threatening and intimidating city staffers over the course of his nine years in office.
Furstenau filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and three police department officials in late October, claiming his arrest in 2006 on misdemeanor battery charges against a Naperville police officer was in retaliation for his constant questioning of police spending and policies.