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ST. LOUIS — Mayor Cara Spencer on Thursday vowed to get answers on how former Comptroller Darlene Green, who retired in April, ended up reappearing on the city’s payroll and being issued a paycheck — while also just being issued a pension check.

“This is bonkers,� Spencer told the Post-Dispatch. “I want to get to the bottom of this.�

The mayor added that the city would hold onto any paychecks that are issued to Green so they can’t be cashed.

Meanwhile, the city’s new comptroller, Donna Baringer, said she’s continuing her probe of what happened. She is talking to several city departments.

“We have a concern that this could be more than just a clerical error,� Baringer said Thursday. “So we’re going through numerous emails and trying to track down the facts.�

Baringer beat Green in the April election, ending Green’s three-decade tenure as the city’s chief financial officer.

But earlier this month, Green ended up back on the payroll — under the budget department, where her City Hall career began in the early 1990s. A paycheck for about $6,500 was issued to her on July 18, though it remains uncashed in the budget department office. And on Friday, she’s slated to have another check issued to her.

Meanwhile, Green this week also received a monthly pension payment of $3,751, according to the city’s personnel department retirement system.

The $6,500 paycheck for Green, to reflect two weeks of work, equates to an annual salary topping $168,000. That’s about $11,000 more a year than the current budget director, Paul Payne, makes.

Baringer said she is seeking answers on how Green ended up back on the payroll, especially since no one in the budget department officially rehired her. A separate department, personnel, is responsible for placing people on the city payroll.

When asked Thursday if she knew the budget department had possession of a payroll check issued in her name, Green said, “Absolutely not. I had no idea.�

Green confirmed that she received her pension payment, but noted that she had experienced difficulties with the personnel department in getting her pension payments started.

“I wanted to start getting them in June,� Green said, adding that the personnel department is a key player in the retirement system.

Baringer said personnel department supervisors are among those she wants to talk to as she unravels the situation. Those supervisors remain unavailable for comment, a spokesperson told the Post-Dispatch on Thursday.

The department director, John Unnerstall, is out of the office until Monday.

Biannca Lambert, human resources systems information manager and custodian of records for the department, also is out of the office.