The 96 employees who have county-issued cards charged $1,427,500 so far this year.
By far, the largest single item charged on a county-issued credit card was the yearly maintenance for all county copiers, printers, and fax and scanner units — $21,977 by Purchasing Department buyer Dale DeNamur, according to Purchasing Manager Cheryl Corbeille.
All items are included in each department's budget, but the credit card system is designed to reduce the volume of purchase orders, invoices and processed checks in an effort to reduce administrative costs.
Jack Krueger is the only county supervisor with a credit card, because he helps buy stamps for the County Board office.
He spent $64.64 on stamps in 2010, and purchased a $30 picture frame in his role as chairman of the Veterans Subcommittee.
Other elected officials with cards are Sheriff Dennis Kocken and Treasurer Kerry Blaney. Kocken used the card to cover $1,140 in lodging for himself and five officers at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells for the Sheriff's Association Conference in February.
Blaney bought $5,616 in office supplies for the treasurer's office in 2010.
The sheriff's department got the most use from the cards, charging $383,032 in 1,281 separate transactions.
In addition to the normal office supplies and patrol car maintenance, the purchases included riot shields, cell phones, Taser cartridges, ankle restraints, a subscription to Midwest Organized Crime News, mace and repairs for the bomb squad's robot.
The county library put $180,511 of its purchases on the card.
Many of the buys were books.
The NEW Zoo charged $137,443, and this included animal food such as crickets, mice, rats and mealworms.
Officials say the county has a system in place to guarantee employees cannot abuse county-issued credit cards.
"There's financial software that gives us immediate checks and balances," said Ellen Sorensen, director of administration.
"It ensures that the people who are using them are the ones who are supposed to and there is no unauthorized use."
Purchases are recorded on computer, but paper receipts are retained by the county and reviewed. All purchases get prior approval from the department supervisor, she said.
The cards, called procurement cards or P-Cards, were provided by the Bank of America. The county is switching to Chase Bank in January.
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