Except as otherwise provided in this section, the provisions of Article 12 of the City Code as amended from time to time and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto governing or relating to labor relations or collective bargaining with general municipal employees of the City shall apply to labor relations and collective bargaining between the City and Department staff. Negotiations with a certified exclusive representative, on behalf of police officers, shall be conducted jointly by the Police Commissioner and the Labor Commissioner, or the designees of the Police Commissioner and the Labor Commissioner, on behalf of the employer. An employee organization may not be denied certification as the exclusive representative of any police officers solely for the reason that it:permits both rank and file employees in addition to supervisory and professional employees to join its membership; or affiliates with another employee organization that permits rank and file, supervisory, or professional employees to join its membership. If the certified exclusive representative and the Department have not reached a written agreement concerning all issues of direct compensation by March 1 of any year, either party may at any time thereafter request arbitration by a board of arbitration, as provided for in this subsection. A request for arbitration by either the certified exclusive representative or the Department must be honored. The board of arbitration shall be composed of 3 members. Within 4 days of the request for arbitration:1 member will be appointed by the Mayor; and 1 member will be appointed jointly by the certified exclusive representative. Within 8 days of the request for arbitration, 1 member will be appointed by the 2 members previously chosen under paragraph (2) of this subsection. The member chosen by the 2 members described under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall serve as the chair of the board of arbitration. In accordance with the procedures of the American Arbitration Association, the member appointed to the board of arbitration under subsection (d)(3) of this section must be selected from a list of 7 arbitrators furnished by the American Arbitration Association. All of the arbitrators on the list furnished by the American Arbitration Association under paragraph (1) of this subsection must be members of the National Academy of Arbitrators. If the 2 members previously appointed under subsection (d)(2) of this section do not mutually agree on the 3^rd member, then:the party requesting the arbitration shall first strike 1 name from the list furnished under subsection (e)(1) of this section; and then the remaining party shall strike 1 name from the list; and this process shall continue until 1 name remains, who shall be the 3^rd member of the board of arbitration. The board of arbitration shall have the power to:administer oaths; compel the attendance of witnesses; and require the production of evidence by subpoena. The board of arbitration shall begin the arbitration proceedings within 7 days after the chair is selected. The board of arbitration shall make its decision within 30 days. A decision by the board of arbitration shall be determined by a majority vote. For good cause the chair may extend any of the time requirements established by this subsection. Within 3 days after the selection of the chair of the board of arbitration, the Labor Commissioner or the Labor Commissioner’s designee shall provide each member of the board of arbitration and all parties with a detailed itemization of the last proposal made by each of the respective parties during the negotiations with respect to issues of direct compensation. The provisions of this section governing interest arbitration for police officers shall apply only to the terms of collective bargaining agreements directly relating to direct compensation. The provisions of this section may not be construed as being contradictory to the provisions of the general orders. If there is a dispute over whether an issue is an issue of direct compensation, the board of arbitration shall decide the issue and the decision by the board of arbitration is final and binding on both parties. The board of arbitration shall identify the major issues in the dispute, review the positions of all parties, and base its decision on the following factors:the lawful authority of the City; the financial conditions of the City; the stipulations of the parties; providing for direct compensation for employees involved in the arbitration proceeding; the overall compensation and benefits paid to the employees involved in the arbitration proceeding, whether reached by a collective bargaining agreement or otherwise, including any increased cost to the City for providing the benefits; the terms and conditions of employment for other employees of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore including any changes to the terms and conditions for the period to be covered by the decision of the board of arbitration; the overall compensation and benefits of public safety employees in the State; and public safety employees in comparable out-of-state metropolitan political subdivisions as compared with private sector employees in the metropolitan Baltimore City area; factors that are normally used in the determination of wages and other benefits in the collective bargaining process, including:cost-of-living data; and consumer prices for goods and services the increases and decreases in the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States Department of Labor; the public welfare, including the impact of the board of arbitration’s decision on the City’s ability to continue providing services generally to the residents of the City; and the terms of the existing collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the parties in the past. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this subsection, the board of arbitration may not render a decision relating to direct compensation that adversely impacts the City’s ability to continue to fund other public services generally. The board of arbitration, after hearing witnesses and receiving and considering the written evidence that is submitted, shall issue a written decision that orders the implementation of the last proposal of 1 of the respective parties submitted in accordance with subsection (i) of this section. The board of arbitration shall issue a written decision that:demonstrates that all the factors set forth in subsection (l) of this section have been considered and applied; and includes the evidence on record relied on in making the decision. The decision of a majority of the members of the board of arbitration shall be final and binding on the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore and on the certified employee organizations involved in the proceedings. No appeal of the decision is allowed. The decision constitutes:a mandate to the Mayor of Baltimore City with respect to the matters that can be remedied administratively by the Mayor; and a mandate to the Board of Estimates and the City Council with respect to the matters which require legislative action necessary to implement the decision of the board of arbitration. Legislation for matters that require legislative action for implementation shall be enacted within 45 days following the date of the arbitration decision. The amounts of salaries and wage scales determined by the final decision of the board of arbitration shall be included in the proposed Ordinance of Estimates in accordance with Article VI, § 12(b) {“Multi-year collective bargaining agreements”} of <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter">the City Charter</cite>. The cost of the arbitration proceedings, including the cost for a court reporter, provided under this section shall be paid equally by the parties involved.