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ST. LOUIS (AP) - The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a massive project using tax increment financing to redevelop an impoverished area of St. Louis.

A trial court more than two years ago threw out $390 million in TIF funding for developer Paul McKee's NorthSide Regeneration project. An appeals court sided with the trial court.

But the Missouri Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling Tuesday reversed the part of the ruling that voided a city ordinance, allowing the project to move forward.

An attorney for residents who sought to stop TIF funding calls the ruling disappointing. But McKee's attorney says it is a big day for St. Louis.

The $8 billion development is expected to eventually include 10,000 homes, office and retail space in a two-square-mile area north of downtown.

   ST. LIBORY, Ill. (AP) - The small, metro-east village of St. Libory is returning a quarter of the property taxes collected from new homeowners.

   The Belleville News-Democrat reports that the village is giving back the tax money in an effort to draw young families into its school district. The refund is good for homes built in a certain tax increment finance district and is good for up to eight years. Homeowners apply to receive the refund.

   The village has hired an Edwardsville firm called Moran Economic Development to help it boost growth. About 615 people live in St. Libory, which is about 35 miles southeast of St. Louis.

   Thomas Henderson is with the Illinois Tax Increment Association in Springfield. He says the village's incentives aren't common.

   The Ellisville City Council is expected to decide Monday evening whether or not to impeach their mayor, Adam Paul.  The council has scheduled public deliberations at 6:00 p.m.  

   If the council votes to oust Paul, he has said he'll sue.  

   The council has already retained attorneys to defend the impeachment, but the vigor of that defense is up in the air, since a newly elected council will be seated April 17th.  

   Three new council members were elected April 2nd - two of them are Paul supporters. The third hasn't made her position known.   Paul opponents Matt Pirrello and Rose Acup will remain on the council, along with Linda Reel, who had voted against charging Paul in the first place.  

   Mayor Paul was elected in April 2012 after campaigning against tax increment financing for a development that includes a new Walmart store.  The TIF was approved despite his opposition.

   The fate of Ellisville's embattled mayor won't be known until next week. The City Council was supposed to vote on Mayor Adam Paul's impeachment Wednesday, but postponed deliberations until Monday.  

   Paul and his attorney Chet Pleban spoke with KTRS's McGraw Millhaven Thursday morning about the proceedings.  

   Some of the charges against Mayor Paul were dropped last night - due to a lack of evidence.  Those include allegations Paul leaked confidential information.  Paul says those charges should never have been brought against him.  

   "Releasing confidential information is pretty, pretty significant, and they're pretty serious allegations," Paul told McGraw.  "And if you're going to put allegations like that out there, you better have some evidence."

   Paul's attorney Chet Pleban told KTRS's McGraw Millhaven this morning that the charges against his client keep shifting.  Pleban says although some charges against his client have been dropped, another charge - that Paul improperly questioned a city official - took center stage at last night's council meeting.  

   Pleban says the charge stems from an inquiry the mayor made on behalf of a constituent.  Pleban told McGraw that the resident wanted to know how he would be compensated for being displaced from low-income housing by the new Walmart development.

   "He went to the person who was the relocation expert and asked that question of what does this person get," Pleban said. "He got the answer to that question. He was satisfied with the answer, took it back to his constituent.  And now they want to impeach him for asking the relocation person that particular question." 

   Paul says that when the council finally votes on it, he expects to be ousted, and if that happens, he says he will sue.

   Pleban says the city council is already hiring legal representation in anticipation of that lawsuit.

The Ellisville City Council won't hold an impeachment hearing for suspended Mayor Adam Paul until they night before the next city election is held. The Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to push back the hearing until April 1.

Mayor Pro Tem Matt Pirrello told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Paul's attorney had asked for the extra five days in order to prepare his defense.

The council had suspended Paul February 27 on charges that he violated the city's charter. Paul has maintained that the action stemmed from his vigorous opposition to a controversial tax increment financing for a Walmart development.

Three city council seats will be decided in the April 2nd election.

Also last night, the City Council rejected tax incentives for a second proposed development from Sansone Group. The developer had already won a TIF for a Walmart project.

The same developer behind a controversial Walmart project in Ellisville may have a tougher time winning public financing for a new project. Sansone unveiled plans Monday night for a 30-million dollar, 12 acres retail and restaurant development on land adjacent to the Walmart site.

They also asked for more tax-payer financing, but the Economic Development Commission rejected the plan.

Commission chairman Tom Weis says they were hoping for something more than another shopping center. Weis said they want something "tying in with the great streets concept; trying to build these little pods people can live in, work in, they can shop in."

Tax Increment Financing has been a hot-button issue in the West County suburb, even contributing to the suspension of Mayor Adam Paul, who opposed the Walmart TIF.

Paul says he believes his election was a referendum by Ellisville residents against using tax dollars for such projects. "I believe we started TIF reform in the region," Paul said. "For the developer to come back asking for more tax increment financing and more incentives is preposterous."

Paul won a legal victory at a hearing Monday, forcing the city council to turn over documents detailing communications regarding his impeachment. Paul's attorney says he still expects the council to remove the mayor from office on March 27, saying the votes are already lined up.

Ellisville Mayor Adam Paul has been suspended pending the outcome of an impeachment hearing.

The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday evening to move forward with a litany of charges against the mayor that include disclosing confidential information and drinking on the job.

Dozens of residents had attended the special council meeting to show support for the Mayor, but it didn't sway the council.

A hearing was scheduled for March 20 to decide whether Paul should be permanently removed from office.

Mayor Paul has been at odds with most of the council over a controversial Walmart TIF since he was elected last April.

When the Ellisville City Council members meet Wednesday, they're expected to levy charges against Mayor Adam Paul that range from disclosing employee salaries to using city resources to help a campaign contributor, and drinking on the job.

The 11 page resolution calling for Paul’s removal was drawn up by City Attorney Paul Martin after the council voted 5-2 for impeachment proceedings. Martin told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the mayor's improprieties began right after he took office last April.

That's also when Paul began officially fighting with most council members over a controversial Walmart TIF. The TIF passed, but is now tied up in court.

The impeachment drive follows an effort by some residents to get council members who'd supported the TIF recalled from office. That effort fell flat when a St. Louis County judge ruled that the city's recall provisions were unconstitutional.

If the council votes to adopt the impeachment resolution at Wednesday night's meeting, Paul would be suspended for 45 days, pending the outcome of an investigation.

The Ellisville City Council is moving forward with an effort to oust Mayor Adam Paul. The council voted 5-2 Wednesday night to have the city attorney draft an impeachment resolution against Paul. Only Paul and Councilwoman Linda Reel opposed the resolution.

The move comes just two days after the Ellisville Charter Enforcement Commission unanimously recommended that the impeachment complaint be thrown out.

Ironically, it's Martin who will present the resolution at the March 6th council meeting.

The specifics of the complaint against the mayor haven't been released, but Martin has clashed frequently with other council members over a controversial Walmart TIF that was passed last year. Martin had been elected last spring after campaigning against the TIF.

The mayor's attorney, Chet Pleban, says the impeachment effort will be met with litigation.

Ellisville Mayor Adam Paul shouldn't be impeached for trying to have a resident removed from a recent City Council meeting. That's according to the Ellisville Charter Enforcement Commission, which unanimously voted Monday night to dismiss a complaint against the mayor.

Mayor Paul has been at odds with several City Council members over a Walmart TIF project that he had opposed. Discussion over the TIF has led to several contentious council meetings, including the meeting in which Paul had tried to have a disruptive resident removed.

Last night's commission meeting wasn't without it's own drama. At one point, Mayor Paul's attorney, Lynette Petruska was removed from the meeting for allegedly disruptive behavior.

Still, the three-member commission sided with Paul. But it might not end there. The City Council could still vote to pursue the matter at Wednesday's meeting.