Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin is facing ethics allegations from the city’s planning director, who alleges the mayor has asked city officials for favors to help his own sister and for a local business “to get around our laws.”

All formal ethics complaints are considered confidential by the city until a ruling is made by the city ethics commission; however, a copy of the complaint was sent to The Aegis by an anonymous source who cited fear of retaliation as a reason to withhold their identity.

In the complaint, Director of Planning Tim Bourcier refers to two instances of unethical behavior by the mayor, including allegations of harassment, intimidation and conflicts of interest. In the complaint Bourcier includes testimony and emails among city officials that show Martin urging Bourcier to violate city code for the benefit of Martin’s sister, Mary Martin, and for the benefit of Zellman Funeral Home.

The first instance is related to a Board of Appeals application from Martin’s sister, who had requested subdivision of a parcel of land for the construction of three homes on Washington Street with a 15-foot front yard setback. Per city code, each home should have a maximum front yard setback of 10 feet.

Emails attached to the ethics complaint show the mayor’s senior aide Adam Rybczynski attempting to urge Bourcier to use his “discretion” to administratively grant the mayor’s sister’s request rather than have her go through the Board of Appeals.

Bourcier said he would not comply, adding that “our law has a clear separation of powers,” in the complaint.

Bourcier acknowledged the fact that the property was owned by the mayor’s sister and encouraged Rybczynski to call him or discuss the matter in person as his emails were “alarming” and “discoverable” by public information requests.

Rybczynski responded by defending himself and emphasizing that he was acting on behalf of the mayor.

“Regarding my last email, I was speaking on behalf of the mayor, who, before sending it, had me discuss his position with the city attorney,” Rybczynski wrote in an email response attached to the complaint. “The mayor has asked that I share with you that he asked me to prepare that message, and he reviewed it before it was sent.”

Rybcznyski did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ethics complaint.

The email exchange led to a meeting on Nov. 4 among Bourcier, Martin, Rybczynski and the city’s Director of Administration Christopher Ricci.

Bourcier said in the ethics complaint that during the meeting the mayor continued to push him to grant the setback to his sister. Bourcier said that the mayor allegedly “became heated” and “with a raised voice” asked Bourcier, “Is this the hill you want to die on?”

“The mayor’s statement ‘is this the hill you want to die on?’ is a direct intimidation of my employment,” Bourcier wrote in the complaint.

Bourcier did not grant the setback and the Board of Appeals application was withdrawn Nov. 6.

Bourcier’s complaint alleges that the mayor, Rybczynski and the City Attorney April Ishak have “eroded the powers of the Board of Appeals to benefit the mayor and his sister.”

Martin declined to comment on the allegations Monday, citing the confidentiality of the ongoing case.

This was the second time top city officials allegedly attempted to urge Bourcier to violate city code, according to the complaint. The second instance outlined in the complaint focuses on a Board of Appeals application approved for the Zellman Funeral Home in July 2022.

The approval was made with conditions, requiring the funeral home to provide a landscape plan to receive a use and occupancy permit. Bourcier’s complaint states that the funeral home did not object to or appeal the conditions.

However, in an email attached to the ethics complaint from Rybczynski to Bourcier dated July 9, 2024, Rybczynski said “the mayor would like to waive the landscape requirement.”

“It is odd to me that after the fact, we are going in and trying to find ways for the Zellmans to get around our laws … Why are we looking for loopholes in our own laws to see if they can avoid landscaping requirements?”

According to an email included in the ethics complaint, Ishak, the city attorney, said that the Zellman Funeral Home’s landscaping condition was not “enforceable” and made a request to “close the Zellman file.”

In his complaint, Bourcier says the city attorney and mayor’s aide “intentionally used their prestige in office” to try to force him to ignore a Board of Appeals ruling for the private gain of the funeral home. He also alleged a conflict of interest in this case, since Ishak served as the funeral home’s legal counsel during a contract negotiation for construction services, according to the complaint.

Bourcier’s complaint requests that the “most serious consequences” be taken including the “consideration of removal of officers, suspension, termination, suspension of salary and other monetary fines” if the board finds ethical violations. Bourcier also seeks to have Ishak recuse herself as city attorney since she is named in the complaint as an alleged violator.

The city ethics board has scheduled a hearing for the complaint Dec. 30.

Ishak could not be reached for comment.

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