Invoices show how much Paso Robles spent on Chris Bausch, Tribune lawsuit
The city of Paso Robles spent nearly $200,000 on its own legal fees in the public records lawsuit between the city, Councilmember Chris Bausch and The Tribune.
That puts the grand total of the city’s expenses toward the claims and lawsuits related to the fallout of harassment allegations against Bausch at more than $841,000.
The Tribune’s public records lawsuit, filed in March after Bausch refused to turn over records stored on his personal devices and accounts to fulfill Tribune requests, was settled on Sept. 8. The Tribune submitted requests for those records as part of its investigation into harassment allegations made against Bausch in a $2.2 million claim filed by then-city manager Ty Lewis.
As part of the legal settlement, the city agreed to pay $250,000 toward The Tribune’s legal fees and $27,000 toward Bausch’s legal fees. The city made it clear that the expenses would be extracted from the city’s general fund, which comes directly from city taxpayers.
Those expenses were in addition to the $365,955 the city paid to settle Lewis’ claim in January, resulting in his retirement. About $145,954 of that came from the city’s general fund, while $220,000 was paid by the city’s insurance, The Tribune previously reported.
As of September, The Tribune reported the city’s costs to be around $643,000.
But now, invoice records obtained by The Tribune through a public records request show the city’s expenses were well in excess of that amount.
How much did Paso Robles spend in public records lawsuit?
According to multiple invoices provided to The Tribune by the city, Paso Robles spent a little more than $195,343 to defend itself in The Tribune’s lawsuit, which also sparked cross-complaints from both Bausch and the city against each other.
That total was racked up in a six-month period, the invoices showed.
The expenses ranged by month, with June making up the highest bill at more than $53,289. The city spent much of June reviewing the documents Bausch turned over after the court ordered him to do so.
The least expensive month was August, with a $10,180 bill.
In March, the city spent $15,215 followed by $48,851 in April and $38,668 in May, invoices showed. In July, the city spent $28,138.
These charges do not include the amount the city paid its lawyers to review and redact other related records requested by The Tribune and other news outlets after Lewis filed his claim against Bausch in August 2024.
To the costs it incurred, the city previously said in a Sept. 8 statement that it had taxpayers in mind when it agreed to settle its cross-complaint against Bausch and pay for the Councilman’s attorney’s 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 in the statement. “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.”
It continued: “The City Council made the decision that the settlement of the Tribune/Bausch litigation was in the best interest of taxpayers.”
The city reiterated this position in its response to a cease-and-desist letter sent by Bausch’s legal counsel, threatening further legal action against the city and The Tribune in the days after the settlement had already been reached.
Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon also expressed his frustration with the expenses incurred by the city after Bausch refused to turn over public records.
During a September city council meeting, Hamon said Bausch’s actions exposed the city to litigation and eroded public trust, The Tribune previously reported.
“Leadership requires accountability, and it is unacceptable for elected officials to engage in conduct that exposes the city to repeated legal challenges,” Hamon said at the time. “Mr. Bausch owes the people of Paso Robles a sincere explanation for his conduct and lack of professionalism and judgment required of his entrusted city position. Our city deserves leaders who put community first, not individuals whose actions created unnecessary burdens (on) taxpayers.”
He later directed his comment at Bausch: “I’m sorry to have to say this, Chris, but again, I think we could have avoided a lot of this and I hope we can move on, but it’s unfortunate that we have lost quite a lot of money here.”
The Tribune reached out to the city and Hamon for further comment Tuesday, but had not received a response as of Tuesday afternoon.
This story was originally published October 28, 2025 at 12:49 PM.
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