Paso Robles blasts Chris Bausch, says taxpayers will foot bill for settlement
The $277,000 the City of Paso Robles will pay The Tribune and Councilmember Chris Bausch for legal fees incurred by the newspaper’s public records lawsuit will come from the city’s general fund, the city said in an emailed statement.
In other words, taxpayers will foot the bill for an expense amounting to more than a quarter-million dollars.
In its statement, the city once again squarely placed the blame on Bausch for the costly lawsuit that was filed by The Tribune in March and settled on Monday.
After receiving 21 public records requests from The Tribune, the city provided numerous records from October 2024 through February regarding former city manager Ty Lewis’ harrassment claim against the city and Bausch. The only records requests that went unfilled at that time were those addressing Bausch’s personal devices.
“The city repeatedly requested records from Councilmember Bausch, but he refused to provide the city with any records from his personal devices or attest that none existed,” the city wrote, adding that Bausch “repeatedly informed city representatives that he would only comply if ordered to do so by a judge,” which is not consistent with internal city processes or the California Public Records Act.
Ultimately, Bausch only provided records after he was ordered to so by San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Michael Kelley.
Following The Tribune’s lawsuit, the city filed a cross-complaint against Bausch to compel him “to comply with state law,” the city said, to which Bausch responded with his own cross-complaint demanding the city pay for his personal attorney.
The city said it considered litigating Bausch’s cross-complaint, before deciding that settling and paying his legal fees “was the most sensible means to ensure no additional taxpayer funds were expended,” adding that Bausch refused to settle with The Tribune unless the city agreed to pay at least a portion of his legal fees.
“Litigating Bausch’s claim against the city for legal fees would have resulted in the expenditure of more general fund dollars,” the city said. “While the city had a high probability of success, defending Bausch’s claim against the city would have required the city to incur additional, unrecoverable legal fees above and beyond the harassment claim settlement paid to Ty Lewis and the current legal fees expended to defend the Tribune’s lawsuit.”
In total, the city agreed to pay The Tribune $250,000 and Bausch $27,000 in legal fees, noting in its statement that the California Public Records Act “holds the public agency liable, not an individual public official, even if the agency acted in good faith.”
The city’s general fund also covered $145,954 of Lewis’ harassment claim settlement, while the city’s insurance paid Lewis $220,000.
“The City Council made the decision that the settlement of the Tribune/Bausch litigation was in the best interest of taxpayers,” the city said.
The general fund provides funding for core city services, including police, fire, street maintenance and parks, the city said.
