Oak Brook officials investigate inventory in golf club pro shop

Oak Brook officials have decided to investigate discrepancies found recently with inventory at the Oak Brook Golf Club Pro Shop.

A review of the audit results of an Aug. 14 planned inventory by village staff revealed that significant discrepancies exist between reported sales and inventory versus actual inventory on hand, Village President Larry Herman said.

“The village takes this matter very seriously, and an internal investigation to determine the extent of the issue, identify the cause of the discrepancies, and rectify the situation has been launched,” he said.

Oak Brook’s Finance Director, Marilyn Fumerom and Village Clerk, Netasha Scarpiniti, both of whom are Certified Public Accountants, were part of the team that conducted the audit. The extensive irregularities in inventory counts found during the audit could be attributed to multiple factors, including the poor long-standing inventory control system put in place by prior village management, Herman said.

He said nobody is being accused of any wrongdoing at this time.

“One thing that’s already come out of this is that we’ve found the procedures we’ve had in place for many years have been woefully inadequate,” Herman said. “We can’t say at this point whether theft is even involved.”

Herman said village officials understand that rumors and misinformation can spread quickly, which makes the importance of transparency a major factor.

“We are committed to keeping the citizens of Oak Brook informed about the ongoing investigation,” he said. “We ask for patience and understanding as the active investigation is still in the initial stages.”

Herman said village officials value the trust residents place in them and are dedicated to involving the community in the resolution of this issue through constructive dialogue.

“We encourage citizens to share any information they may have related to the investigation by calling the Village of Oak Brook Police Department at (630) 368-8700,” he said.

Within an hour of the completion of the audit, Jeff Kawucha, head golf professional/manager of the village-owned Golf Club, resigned, effective immediately at that time, without an explanation given to village officials.

Kawucha, who worked at the Golf Club for more than 20 years, including eight seasons as the head golf professional, stated Monday, via an email from his attorney, David Morrison, that he resigned in protest for having to terminate the employment of a team member and friend.

Herman said Kawucha was told to terminate an employee because that person was very close to going over a predetermined limited number of hours worked, after which point the village would have been required to contribute to a pension and other benefits for that employee.

” (Kawucha) was involved in the budget process and was aware of the limited number of hours that could be worked by this employee,” Herman said. “Anything beyond that would have needed to be requested for board approval, and that request was never made.”

Kawucha stated that he was not aware that the hours limit was a reason to terminate the employee, until he was told to fire the employee, as there were other times when seasonal employees exceeded the hours limit and were not fired.

“So, this decision by the village’s new managers caught Jeff by surprise,” Morrison stated in an email. “Once Jeff was told to fire this employee, Jeff drew the conclusion that other seasonal golf club employees who were going to reach the hours limit, also would be let go. That is the reason why he resigned from the Golf Club.”

As for the discrepancies reportedly found during the inventory, Kawucha said he cannot comment because he has not been shown the audit or discrepancies.

“I would have much preferred that (Kawucha) remained on staff, to both help us reconcile the audit deficiencies and to work with village management to improve the business side of the operation and to continue building upon the excellence which he helped create at the golf course,” Herman said.

“While the positive reputation of the Golf Club is very important, the Village Board has the responsibility to ensure that it operates in an efficient, businesslike manner. That mandate includes adhering to annual budgets, staffing policies, and optimizing accounting and inventory controls.”

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Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.