UW Regents Committee Backs $81.4M Payroll Project

RYAN J. FOLEY

WHITEWATER, Wis. (AP) — A committee of University of Wisconsin System regents approved plans Thursday for an $81.4 million payroll system despite concerns over the cost and uncertainty surrounding the consulting firm on the project.

The business, finance and audit committee approved the plan for the payroll, benefits and human resources system and a one-year, $33 million project budget. The action, during a meeting on the UW-Whitewater campus, sends the proposal to the full board for final approval Friday.

The committee conditioned its vote on the negotiation of additional safeguards in the contract with Huron Consulting Group Inc. of Chicago, which is helping implement the project. The firm is facing a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and numerous shareholder lawsuits after being forced to restate its earnings and oust top executives in an accounting scandal last month.

Regent Jose Vasquez of Milwaukee said Huron and the project "are under a cloud" that could either disappear or grow darker.

But Huron's new chief executive officer, James Roth, promised regents that fallout from the investigation and lawsuits would not affect its work. He said he was taking steps to keep key consultants on the project from leaving, including a new package of retention benefits.