An ethics complaint by the city’s former planning director alleging intimidation and conflicts of interest among top Havre de Grace officials has been dropped.

The complaint, filed by former Planning Director Tim Bourcier, outlined two alleged instances when Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin; the mayor’s senior aide Adam Rybczynski; and City Attorney April Ishak attempted to coerce Bourcier into violating city law for the benefit of Martin’s sister and a funeral home for whom Ishak serves as legal counsel.

Havre de Grace considers all formal ethics complaints confidential until its ethics commission reviews and rules on them. However, The Aegis received a copy of the complaint against the officials from a source who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

On Dec. 24 the city’s ethics committee dismissed the case due to what committee members said was a breach of confidentiality.

Bourcier appealed the dismissal to the Harford County Circuit Court on Dec. 26, but has since dropped the case, resigned from his position with the city and taken a job with the county government.

The former director commented on the situation for the first time this week and told The Aegis that he appealed the case because he was in “self-preservation mode” due to his purchase of a new home in July. The appeal, Bourcier said, was to keep the case open and allow him to file a retaliation lawsuit as a last resort, should he be fired by the city before the court ruled on the appeal.

“I did want to see the case through, but I also wanted to make sure my job was secure,” Bourcier said. “I was hoping to just prolong any plans they had to fire me by making them think twice before doing something rash until I was able to move on. A retaliation claim would’ve been a potential last resort opportunity to be made whole if I was let go before I found other employment.”

Due to his new position with the county government and the legal fees associated with pursuing an appeal, Bourcier said he had “less motivation” to keep his appeal going.

“The ethics complaint is not a civil suit where there is the opportunity for financial compensation if it was determined I was wronged,” Bourcier said. “After some soul searching and realizing any successful appeal would likely kick the review back to an Ethics Committee that dismissed the case without hearing the merits in the first place, I did not see a path forward that was worthwhile.”

Martin provided his first official comment on the complaint during the mayor and commissioner’s meeting Monday night, when he confirmed that Bourcier’s last day of employment with the city was Jan. 31.

Martin said there are no ethics charges pending, and noted that due to an ongoing investigation, he is limited in what he can say.

“The city is now free to move forward in establishing efficient government processes that serve the citizens of this fine community,” Martin said. “Actions by unelected rogue bureaucrats that cause unnecessary expense to our citizens will not be tolerated and will be answerable to the elected officials through oversight and internal operating policies approved by my administration.”

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com, 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.