Zimmer will not give back money

County Commissioner won’t return the $170 he earned as a substitute teacher, as recommended by the Ethics Commission

The Carroll County Ethics Commission issued an advisory opinion on March 7 that said Zimmer broke the county’s ethics ordinance that bars county employees from holding another job that could present a conflict of interest.

Since the Carroll Board of County Commissioners helps fund Carroll County Public Schools, employment by both could present that conflict, the Ethics Commission said.

The Ethics Commission advised Zimmer to remove his name from the list school officials use to find substitute teachers and return the money.

Zimmer removed himself from the list and has not taught since December, but said he is not using his time thinking about giving back the money. ‘‘Not a nano-second,” he said.

Zimmer substituted twice in December, once teaching physical education at Mount Airy Middle School and another time teaching English at Century High School in Eldersburg.

The Ethics Commission’s letter is in response to a question from Steve Powell, chief of staff for the Carroll County government. Powell’s question followed a public information request from Martin Radinsky of Eldersburg, asking if any commissioners were employed by the Board of Education.

‘‘I think it’s a poor decision,” Radinsky said about Zimmer refusing to return the money. ‘‘We’re talking $170. To some people it’s a lot of money, and to some it’s not a lot of money.”

Radinsky, who is chairman of the Carroll County Democratic Central Committee, questioned the example Zimmer is setting. ‘‘If you go to traffic court and don’t like what the judge says, do you say, ‘I don’t like what you say so I’m not going to pay you?’”

The advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission is not enforceable, said Kim Millender, county attorney.

However, if someone files a complaint about Zimmer’s dual employment, she said, the commission could review Zimmer’s actions again and ask the Carroll County Circuit Court to order him to return the money.

Zimmer could face contempt of court charges if he did not follow the court order, she said.

The Ethics Commission could also issue a reprimand through the Circuit Court, or recommend censure, removal or termination.

Radinsky would not say if he would file a complaint.

‘‘I don’t want to rush into anything,” he said. ‘‘I’m hoping Mr. Zimmer will think about it, return it and the issue will be complete. It’s up to him if he wants to continue a newspaper cycle on this.”

Zimmer, who is the commissioners’ liaison to the Carroll County Board of Education, said he decided to substitute teach after hearing a challenge at a school board meeting for school administrators to get back into classrooms by substituting to recapture what teaching is about.

‘‘I don’t think the comments were directed at me, but they inspired me,” Zimmer said.

Zimmer spoke with Superintendent Charles Ecker, who said he did not think substitute teaching was a problem. ‘‘I didn’t see the conflict,” Ecker said, adding that he was not familiar with the county’s ethics regulations.

The Board of Education – not the commissioners – sets the salaries for substitutes, he said.

Ecker added that he encourages principals to invite politicians to the schools to tour and talk with teachers and students to get a feel for what’s going on in the schools.

Zimmer said he considered volunteering, but did not think it would be fair to him, his family or other substitutes. He also said he wanted to understand the pay system for substitutes by getting paid.

‘‘I think my experience of me doing this twice, once at Century and once at Mount Airy Middle, has informed my judgment and put me in a better position to make decisions on behalf of Carroll County government and our funding of the Board of Education,” he said.

While at Mount Airy Middle School, Zimmer said he spoke with a physical education student teacher about factors that will drive her decision about where she teaches and what she liked about Carroll County’s system.

Zimmer also said he noted ‘‘lack of uniformity between information provided in training and procedure at Century High that staff was following.” He declined further comment.

Zimmer considers the issue over, and maintains he did nothing wrong. ‘‘I have no idea what the future is going to hold,” he said. ‘‘If people want to make an issue out of something, that’s their prerogative.”