One year ago, San Diego County experienced the heaviest rainfall in over a century.
The floods displaced hundreds of residents, including many low-income households.
The county turned to Kentucky-based Equus to put residents in hotels but problems quickly began.
Flood victims told Team 10 that Equus lost their information, putting their stays at risk, and sent one flood victim to a hotel that was no longer open.
Meanwhile, Team 10 found two Equus employees were paid about $70,000 for one month of work or about $257 an hour.
Other Equus staff were paid more than $100 an hour despite widespread complaints about their service.
Team 10 also found that Equus relied heavily on temporary staff.
Public records Team 10 obtained show those temporary workers were paid a fraction of what Equus staff were paid.
Yet, Equus tried charging the county the same high hourly rate for its temporary staff.
Team 10's findings resulted in Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe in October calling for a financial audit of Equus.
The audit is supposed to determine whether Equus properly used public funds and how the county could be better prepared for the next natural disaster.
That audit is nearly done.
A spokeswoman for Montgomery Steppe said the findings likely should be presented to the board of supervisors on Feb. 11 or 25.
The board then must decide what action to take.
From February to June 2024, the county spent more than $15 million on emergency housing for more than 2,000 people.
Equus did not respond to a request for comment.
