Town of Taos pays former town manager $30K in lawsuit settlement

TAOS  — The town of Taos has agreed to pay $30,000 to settle a lawsuit a former town manager filed over what he claimed was unpaid and personal and administrative leave, recently released public records show.

According to an agreement Taos Mayor Pascual Maestas signed on Sept. 22, the town agreed to settle its dispute with Rick Bellis, who worked for two terms under recently reelected former Taos mayor Dan Barrone.

Eighth Judicial District Court Judge Emilio Chavez dismissed Bellis' lawsuit with prejudice on Oct. 17, granting a joint motion from both parties.

A year after his contract was terminated in April 2022 following Maestas' swearing in, Bellis filed a lawsuit with the town that claimed he was owed a total of $38,000 after he was paid approximately $67,500 in severance. In his court filing, Bellis said he was also seeking reimbursement for "other general, special and consequential damages in an amount to be proven at trial" to reimburse him for "direct or proximate harm."

The town countersued in response, arguing the former town manager had been "unjustly enriched" $15,577 beyond what he was owed after leaving his post.

After leaving the town of Taos, Bellis served for one year as the village of Taos Ski Valley administrator before announcing last month his intention to retire at the end of this year.

Neither party has agreed to comment on the settlement, citing a non-disclosure agreement.

In a phone call this week with the Journal, New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Christine Barber clarified that the settlement document fell under the state's Inspection of Public Records Act, and Town Clerk Denise Martinez responded immediately to an IPRA request filed by the Journal this week requesting the agreement.

Maestas announced early in his single term as mayor that he did not intend to seek reelection. Barrone, who was elected Nov. 4, will succeed him in the new year.