When University of Wisconsin System leaders met with members of the state Legislature last week, the acrimonious mood that has so often pervaded relations between the two groups in recent times was nowhere to be found.

Last Wednesday's meeting of the Joint Audit Committee — to discuss the reporting and use of sick time by UW personnel — offered taxpayers much to worry.

At issue was an October audit that found UW faculty members used an average of less than one day of sick leave in 2005, a rate that indicates many employees are not reporting the time they take off for illnesses. State employees are allowed to rollover unused sick time each year and use it to pay for health insurance at the time of retirement.

State lawmakers Wednesday accorded nary a word of criticism to UW, however, in light of a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel study that found only two legislators reported taking any sick time in the last four years. Like other state employees, members of the Legislature may convert unused sick time to pay for health insurance upon retirement.

To be sure, many UW employees have reported their sick time honestly, and some educators and lawmakers don't need any time off. But the fact remains that a large portion of UW faculty, and an even larger percentage of state legislators, have failed to report their use of sick leave — be it because of ignorance or a more deliberate fleecing of Wisconsin taxpayers.

Both the Legislature and UW must overhaul their sick-leave reporting requirements to add accountability to a process where clearly little currently exists. When a lawmaker or educator misses work because of illness, a sick day must be recorded.

We are encouraged by a proposal in the Legislature that would prevent lawmakers from rolling over unused sick time from year to year. However, taking away a policy that affords state employees a substantial margin of safety so abruptly would be ill-advised.

We suggest a compromise: Allow sick-day accrual for a finite number of years — say two or three — to allow some flexibility for serious illnesses or injuries. While state employees stand to lose a substantial benefit of working for Wisconsin, a policy that has been so widely abused cannot remain unchanged. And doing so while allowing the benefit of some reasonable sick-time padding will lessen the blow of such a major change.