Well it is quite a lede

I guess it's not hard to understand why WWLTV went with the gold watches banquet at the top of this story about an auditor's report on Sewerage and Water Board.  But that really isn't the big systemic problem.  This is.

But the revelations about the lack of consistency and controls in contracting stretch far beyond the contracts for special events.

The agency lacks a contract management system, and even after seven weeks, did not provide all the contracts and backup documentation auditors requested for their analysis.

The audit revealed the S&WB does not have policies in place to sufficiently monitor the agency’s contracts. For example, policies that were developed to rein in change orders and contract amendments were never finalized and, therefore, not routinely or consistently followed to keep costs from ballooning.

Policies inconsistent with state bid laws also led to possible violations of the law regarding the length of time bids were advertised, according to the audit.

I mean, yeah, they need to use better judgement in terms of what kinds of employee appreciation gifts they hand out. But putting that stuff in as the highlight of the story tends to feed a trope where we blame line employees for the damage actually being done by the graft of  administrators, politicians and contractors. That's really where we find the fancy jewelry anyway.