UW System CFO Says Job On Line For $81M IT Project

RYAN J. FOLEY

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The University of Wisconsin System's chief financial officer said Tuesday his job will be on the line if an $81.4 million information technology project fails.

The UW System's senior vice president for administration and fiscal affairs, Tom Anderes, told lawmakers he was responsible for the project to install a new payroll and benefits system and assumes he will be fired if it doesn't work.

His comments came in response to a question by Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Green Bay, who expressed frustration that state officials in charge of previous projects that failed, costing a total of $170 million, were never held accountable.

Montgomery was one of several lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology who peppered UW System officials with questions about the project for 90 minutes. Lawmakers repeatedly expressed skepticism about the project, which already failed once at a cost of $28 million.

"You truly are at a crossroads with taxpayers," Rep. Kitty Rhoades, R-Hudson, told them. "It's going to be an interesting journey. A lot of eyes are seriously watching how you do this."