This section applies only in Calvert County. The Sheriff of Calvert County shall receive an annual salary: Of $90,480 for calendar year 2018; and Beginning in calendar year 2019, equal to the salary of a Department of State Police lieutenant colonel, class code 5905 (grade 13, step 12). On or after January 1, 2011, the County Commissioners of Calvert County may pay to the Sheriff additional compensation equal to the amount of contributions the County Commissioners would have made to the Calvert County Employees’ Savings Plan on behalf of the Sheriff for the years of service the Sheriff accrued as the Sheriff prior to joining the Calvert County Employees’ Savings Plan. The amount payable in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may be made in one or more payments as deemed appropriate by the County Commissioners. The Sheriff may appoint deputy sheriffs and correctional deputies in the number and at the salary approved by the County Commissioners or prescribed in a collective bargaining agreement, as applicable, provided that any additional funding required due to the collective bargaining agreement is subject to approval by the County Commissioners. Deputy sheriffs and correctional deputies shall serve under the direction of the Sheriff. Within 1 year of appointment, a deputy sheriff or correctional deputy shall complete the course prescribed for police officers or correctional deputies by the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions. Except as provided in subsubparagraph 2 of this subparagraph, a deputy sheriff or correctional deputy funded by the County Commissioners will become a merit system employee of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office on completion of the deputy sheriff’s or correctional deputy’s initial probation period and may not be dismissed without cause. A deputy sheriff or correctional deputy funded through grants or other sources may be dismissed without cause when the funding source is depleted. Except as provided in subsubparagraph 2 of this subparagraph, there may be no honorary deputy sheriffs of the county and no one is authorized to carry badges, certificates, or other materials for the purpose of identifying the bearer as an honorary deputy sheriff. The Sheriff may appoint as special deputy sheriffs any members of the police force of the towns of North Beach or Chesapeake Beach who shall have all of the powers and authority of the deputy sheriffs. The County Commissioners are authorized to reimburse the towns of North Beach and Chesapeake Beach in whole or in part for services performed by the special deputy sheriffs outside the town limits. The Sheriff may appoint one full–time assistant sheriff who shall: Serve under the direction of the Sheriff; and Be designated by the Sheriff as a line officer. The Sheriff shall appoint an individual to serve as the assistant sheriff who: Is an active duty deputy sheriff and holds the rank of a commissioned officer in the Sheriff’s Office; or Is not a current employee of the Sheriff’s Office. The appointment of the assistant sheriff is in the sole discretion of the Sheriff. The Sheriff may appoint the assistant sheriff without subjecting the candidate to a written examination. The assistant sheriff serves at the pleasure of the Sheriff. If the assistant sheriff was an active duty deputy sheriff in the Sheriff’s Office immediately before appointment, the assistant sheriff: Shall receive an annual salary set on appointment and each fiscal year thereafter as provided in the Sheriff’s budget approved and adopted by the County Commissioners; Shall retain full merit status; and At the end of an appointment, shall be placed at the highest rank on the approved Calvert County Deputy Sheriff Pay Scale and shall receive the salary reflected at the highest step within that highest rank. If the assistant sheriff was not an employee of the Sheriff’s Office immediately before appointment, the assistant sheriff: Shall receive an annual salary that is established through a mutual agreement between the Sheriff and the County Commissioners; Shall be afforded all the benefits available to full–time employees in the Sheriff’s Office; and May not be given merit status. The annual salary set by the County Commissioners under subparagraph (i)1 of this paragraph: Shall include the same cost of living adjustment, if any, approved by the County Commissioners for county merit employees; and May not be reduced from the prior fiscal year without cause. The Sheriff may negotiate the salary of the assistant sheriff set by the County Commissioners under subparagraph (i)1 of this paragraph. Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, any Sheriff who, since 1948, has served for three or more terms shall receive a pension when the Sheriff leaves office: In the annual amount of $150 for each year served; and That shall be paid not less frequently than once a month. This subsection does not apply to a term of office that begins on or after July 1, 1988. The County Commissioners may provide in their annual budget for a pension to be paid to the surviving spouse, if any, of any Sheriff who was in office as of October 1970. The pension shall be in the amount of $250 a month and shall be paid to the surviving spouse, if any, for the life of that surviving spouse. This paragraph applies to an individual who: On or after July 1, 2008, serves as the Sheriff; and As the Sheriff does not participate in the Employees’ Pension System under Title 23 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article. An individual described in paragraph (1) of this subsection may participate in the Calvert County Employees’ Savings Plan. This subsection applies only to all full–time deputy sheriffs and correctional deputies in the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office at the rank of major and below. Sworn deputy sheriffs and correctional deputies subject to this subsection may: Take part or refrain from taking part in forming, joining, supporting, or participating in a labor organization or its lawful activities; Select a labor organization as their exclusive representative; Engage in collective bargaining with the Sheriff and the County Administrator concerning wages and employee benefits through a labor organization certified as their exclusive representative; Subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, enter into a collective bargaining agreement, through the exclusive representative, covering those wages and benefits; and Decertify a labor organization as their exclusive representative. Any additional funding required as a result of a negotiated collective bargaining agreement is subject to approval by the County Commissioners. A labor organization shall be deemed certified as the exclusive representative if the following conditions are met: A petition for the labor organization to be recognized by the Sheriff is signed by at least 51% of the sworn deputy sheriffs at the rank of sergeant and below indicating their desire to be exclusively represented by the petitioner for the purpose of collective bargaining; and The petition is submitted to the Sheriff. If the Sheriff does not challenge the validity of the petition within 20 calendar days following receipt of the petition, the labor organization shall be deemed certified as the exclusive representative. If the Sheriff challenges the validity of the petition, the American Arbitration Association shall be requested to appoint a third–party neutral arbitrator to conduct a secret ballot election and to certify whether the labor organization has been selected as the exclusive representative by a 51% vote of the sworn deputy sheriffs and correctional deputies with the rank of major and below. The costs associated with the American Arbitration Association and the third–party neutral arbitrator shall be shared equally by the parties. Following the certification of an exclusive representative as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, the parties shall meet at reasonable times and engage in collective bargaining in good faith. The parties shall make every reasonable effort to conclude negotiations in a timely manner to allow for inclusion by the Sheriff’s Office of matters agreed on in its budget request. The Sheriff and the County Administrator may not be required to engage in collective bargaining negotiations with the exclusive representative after the time that the County Commissioners approve the annual operating budget with regard to conditions of employment requiring the appropriation of funds in the annual operating budget. A collective bargaining agreement shall contain all matters of agreement reached in the collective bargaining process. The agreement may contain a grievance procedure providing for nonbinding arbitration or grievances. An agreement reached in accordance with this paragraph shall be in writing and signed by the designated representatives of the parties involved in the collective bargaining process. Subject to subparagraph (v) of this paragraph, an agreement is not effective until it is ratified by a majority of votes cast by the members in the bargaining unit, the Sheriff, and the County Commissioners. Additional funding, if any, required as a result of the agreement shall be subject to approval by the County Commissioners. The exclusive representative, the Sheriff, and the County Administrator may each designate at least one but not more than four individuals for representation in collective bargaining negotiations. An agreement is not valid if it extends for less than 1 year or more than 4 years. This subsection may not be construed as authorizing or otherwise allowing a correctional deputy to engage in a strike as defined in § 3–303 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article.