City manager heaps data on chamber

If Naperville City Manager Peter Burchard was serving food instead of speaking at Monday's chamber luncheon, the crowd's plates would have been piled high.

Burchard gave the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce a heaping helping of just about everything on his mind during a nearly hourlong address.

His message played up the city's strengths and achievements and challenged state lawmakers to live up to their end of the deal.

Burchard said a healthy municipal government works with its constituency and plays nice with other taxing bodies.

"We have got to make sure we continuously engage the public," he said. "It is critical the business community reach out to us and hold us accountable."

Burchard laid the blame for problems some local businesses face at the feet of state government. He said the current political climate in Springfield is hurting businesses and forcing municipal leaders to travel to the Capitol to be heard.

"We're going to have something to say," he said. "We're not going to sit around and let things happen to us."

Many business leaders agreed with Burchard's assessment of the downstate political travails.

"He's saying what we all know, and that's what decisions are made in Springfield affect us all," said John Williams, president of Naperville's Employee Synergy, "but he's saying city government should do something to make sure those effects aren't detrimental."

Burchard said one of the key components to Naperville's overall success is the city's infrastructure, specifically city-owned water and electric utilities.

The successes of the city's utilities in saving customers money and keeping costs low help retain business and bring new enterprises to town, he said. Electric users on Naperville's grid have saved $260 million since 1992 over what they would have paid to ComEd during that time, he added.

"Our government can do it as well as any private business in the world, and I'm proud of that," he said.