An unnamed, now-former public works employee went ahead with a purchase agreement for the ambulance. The trouble with that was that the unnamed worker never submitted a purchase requisition or purchase order or consulted the Finance Department's General Services Division, the only department in the city actually empowered to authorize purchase orders, according to the report.
It was costing the administration around half a million dollars. That, in and of itself, is not something that can bridge this kind of a gap, but it's an indication of the ways in which money has been spent while refusing to account for the actual costs of what these programs are.
Every December, roadmaps get locked, budgets get approved, and board decks are polished until everything looks precise and under control. Underneath, many CTOs and VPs are still working with partial visibility. They have a feel for their teams, but not a reliable view of how work moves through the system, how AI is really changing delivery, or where time and money actually go.