In the second leg of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors' extended conversation about money, the central theme of "doing more with less" branched off into varied topics, such as using cameras for law enforcement and computerizing birth, death and marriage records.

Several supervisors, in fact, suggested to Mike Babcock, chief deputy of the Columbia County Sheriff's Department, that a camera could catch a speeder or a stoplight-runner just as well as a police officer, at a lower cost.

And, asked Supervisor Jack Sanderson of Columbus, why doesn't the sheriff's department form a citizens' "posse" like the one used in neighboring Dodge County?

"My intuition is that, if we set up a volunteer posse force, we could find people willing to step forward and help out," Sanderson said.

Babcock said the sheriff's department remains open to ideas for saving money, even though the department ended 2008 with a $400,000 budget surplus.

"In a nutshell," he said, "we have been fiscally responsible, and have tried to save the county money whenever we can."

The discussion at Wednesday's County Board of Supervisors meeting was a continuation of a conversation that started at the May meeting.

As part of each department's annual report, County Board Chairwoman Debra Wopat of rural Rio had asked department heads and committee chairs to seek ways for each department to spend less, bring in more money and maintain needed services.

For many county offices - including the county medical examiner - that was easier said than done.

Medical Examiner Angela Hinze said all the revenue that comes into her department is paid by the families of people who die in Columbia County, for services such as removal, cremation or disinterment.

She and Supervisor Richard Boockmeier of Portage, chairman of the judiciary committee, had talked at length about whether the fees should be increased.

"I think the fees we have now are pretty significant," Hinze said, adding that she didn't like the idea of increasing the cost burden for bereaved families, and she doubted that doing so would bring in a significant additional amount of money.

Bill Casey, the county's solid waste director, said his department is largely at the mercy of a nationwide drop in the prices paid for recyclable materials, which started in November.

The department is holding onto some types of recyclables in the hope that the prices will go up, Casey said, but some types (such as paper) have to be sold even at the low prices because they accumulate too fast.

The Planning and Zoning Department relies largely on fees for its revenue, and because of the economy, it's hurting financially.

Supervisor Doug Richmond of rural Lodi, chairman of the planning and zoning commission, said that in the last 15 years, the office has issued an average of 187 permits for the construction of new housing each year.

In 2008, that number was 70, the lowest number since 1984.

And, with the recession continuing, 2009 is on track to be another year for a low number of permits - and therefore, less revenue from permit fees, Richmond said.

But even with lower revenues, the requirements for work on land use issues continue to increase, he said, mainly because the state often changes regulations. Ninety-four percent of the office's costs are for staff compensation.

"But as these people retire," Richmond said, "we may not be able to fill their positions."

Donna Chrzas, the county's veterans services officer, said she knows firsthand about increased demands without increased revenue.

By law, she said, county veterans services offices are allocated state money based partly on population. For Columbia County, the amount allocated is $11,500 a year.

Since 2006, 662 new veterans from all conflicts and eras have been added to the county's caseload. The largest and fastest-growing group of veterans in Columbia County, Chrzas said, consists of men and women younger than age 30 who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan - often with conditions such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

John Hartman, director of the county's management information services, said technology such as electronic data storage and videoconferencing in one of the courtrooms can, and does, make many county operations more cost-efficient.

Studies have shown, he said, that the county could save $60,000 just by improving the productivity of half of the county's work force by 1 percent.

But the efficiency of technology comes at a cost, noted Lisa Walker, register of deeds.

For example, the state's Vital Records Department is implementing a new system to store birth, marriage and death records electronically. But it will take time and manpower to transition to the system, she said, and once it's operational, her office would need a printer that would be used solely for printing such records, to ensure their confidentiality.

Many department heads and committee members said it is difficult, if not impossible, to significantly raise revenue or cut expenses without also affecting services.

And even ideas like cameras-as-cops and volunteer posses, which on the surface seem to be money-savers, really are not, said Babcock.

It's unlikely, Babcock said, that a prosecutor could make a case against an accused speeder based solely on a photo that shows the driver, the license number and an electronic speed-measuring device with a readout number in excess of the number posted on the speed limit signs.

And, while the department utilizes volunteers for things such as haircuts for jail inmates and security for the Columbia County Fair, Babcock said the department would incur costs for supervision and liability for a "posse" of civilian volunteers.

"Without asking our corporation counsel," he said, nodding toward Corporation Counsel C. Joseph Ruf, "I'm pretty sure this would cost us more than it would save."

Resolution: Don't reduce interest on taxes

There were a few "nay" votes, but the Columbia County Board of Supervisors signed on to a resolution aimed at state lawmakers, opposing a proposed temporary reduction in the interest rate for delinquent property taxes.

A bill before the Assembly, AB 149, proposed reducing the interest charged for property taxes in arrears from 1 percent to 0.5 percent a month (or fraction of a month).

If the measure becomes law, the intent is for the reduction to go into effect for the remainder of 2009 and all of 2010, with the original interest rate restored after that.

The idea behind the bill is to provide relief for payers of back taxes. But Supervisor John Tramburg of Fall River, chairman of the County Board's finance committee, said that relief would be at the expense of the county's coffers.

If the reduction is in effect for half of 2009, the estimated revenue loss for the county would be about $60,000. If it's in effect for all of 2010, the loss would be about $130,000.

"Columbia County cannot afford to lose any more revenue than we've already lost with the reductions that the state has put on us," Tramburg said.

Not so, said Supervisor Donald Nelson of rural Wisconsin Dells. People who owe back taxes need such breaks.

"I've argued this for years, and I think we are gouging delinquent property taxpayers," he said.

When a voice vote was taken, Nelson offered one of the "nay" votes, but Chairwoman Debra Wopat of rural Rio declared that the majority had voted in favor of the resolution.

The supervisors were of one voice, however, on another resolution - asking federal lawmakers to revise the Internal Revenue Service laws governing employee-issued cellular phones. The resolution calls for the removal of the IRS rule that can make the cost of cellular phones issued to employees to be taxable if the phones are found not to be used 100 percent for business-related purposes.