The Lakewood Village Board was scheduled to pass an ordinance purporting to allow them discounts when they golf at certain supposedly off-peak times at RedTail Golf Course, the taxpayer-owned links.
Accompanying Ordinance 2025- (04) is this from Village Manager Jean Heckman:
A RedTail Golf Club Usage Policy is being proposed in order to comply with IRS requirements, while offering Redtail Golf Club Golfing benefits to Village Employees, Planning & Zoning Commissioners and Village Board members.
The Village encourages its trustees, commissioners and employees to utilize the amenities that it provides, including RedTail Golf Club, and to provide feedback on the Village’s facilities and amenities.
I expect Village Attorney Scott Puma assured them everything would be OK after passage of the language above.
But, wait.
What about the statutory language below?
Section 2 of the Local Government Officer Compensation Act specifies that compensation of elected officers “shall be fixed at least 180 days before the beginning of the terms of the officers whose compensation is to be fixed.” 50 ILCS 145/2.
I filed a Freedom of Information request for the most recent compensation ordinance and received the following from Village Clerk Jeanette Labosco:
Note that there is no mention of free golf in the ordinance.
Don’t you think free golf is of value, that is, a type of compensation?
