Ellisville City Clerk Retires; Matt Pirrello Says Paul 'Ousted Himself'

This story has been updated to reflect new information from Matt Pirrello, who indicated Demeter has decided to retire and has not resigned.

Tuesday night's special session of the Ellisville City Council, the first since Mayor Adam Paul's reinstatement by a St. Louis County Judge, will include what the city should do next to fill the vacancy created by City Clerk Kate Demeter's decision to retire.

Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Matt Pirrello confirmed Tuesday morning that Demeter has been off the job since the end of May. Pirrello said he signed off on her retirement, and that she cited a desire to care for a new grandchild as the reason behind taking early retirement.

Pirrello said Wednesday that Demeter would remain on the payroll until sometime in September and is using accrued vacation time.

Pirrello told Patch that the council would discuss the appointment of a new clerk and absent of doing so, would grant City Manager Kevin Bookout temporary authority to carry out both duties.

Perrillo talked to Patch after an appearance on KMOX Radio Tuesday morning where he continued to defend the justification behind the move against Paul, which included an allegation of improperly meeting with an agent for Walmart over a land deal involving a city resident. Pirrello told KMOX Paul "ousted himself" and was removed at his own behest, not impeached.

St. Louis County Judge David Lee Vincent's order of a stay of that removal references Paul's contention that City Attorney Paul Martin, City Council members and others conspired "to remove Paul based on Paul's opposition to a Walmart development project and his plan to replace the City Attorney," but it also spent considerable time suggesting that Paul's due process rights may have been violated in the process when a new charge was added without prior notice.

Pirrello told Patch that he believed the judge called the procedure "into question," but maintained "we procedurally conducted ourselves within the confines" of the law.

Pirrello said the city's special counsel, John Maupin, would be at Tuesday night's meeting and could discuss possible next legal steps in an executive session, which would include Paul.

Paul said Monday he would likely not vote on matters tied to the direction of the legal matters against him, including what the city should do about the scheduled special election for November, called after Paul was removed from office in April.