Exactly two weeks prior to a planned meeting with the Calvert County Delegation to Annapolis, the Calvert County Commissioners discussed a list of legislative requests for the 2012 Maryland General Assembly session.

During their Tuesday, Oct. 25 meeting, the board gave its unanimous support to a measure presented by Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans [R]. The legislation would allow the sheriff to appoint an assistant sheriff from the ranks of deputies who are commissioned officers and allow them to retain his or her merit employee status. An individual appointed assistant sheriff from outside the agency’s ranks of deputies would be afforded all benefits available to fulltime employees but would not have merit status.

The measure would amend current legislation covering sheriff’s salaries. If an assistant sheriff is appointed from the ranks of deputies, and a new sheriff is elected and appoints his own assistant, the previous sheriff’s appointee shall return to his or her previous rank and pay.

Evans stated that his current assistant, Col. Tom Hejl, is likely to retire before his (Evans’) current term ends in 2014. The sheriff said he is considering selecting Lt. Dave McDowell, commander of the sheriff’s office Patrol Division, as the next assistant sheriff.

“I’m impressed with the amount of education your staff has been getting,” Commissioners’ President Susan Shaw told Evans.

Commissioner Gerald W. “Jerry” Clark [R] said if the assistant sheriff were a merit employee, the sheriff seeking re-election would need to make clear the assistant’s function within the agency.

Other legislative items passing muster with the commissioners included changing the county code to allow the board to close the record and pass an ordinance or resolution at the conclusion of a public hearing.  

The board also indicated support for four legislative initiatives to be tossed in the legislative hopper by the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO). The measures deal with county budget security, local land use autonomy, school board fiscal accountability, and school construction and renovation funding.

There was also unanimous support for legislation to give the county authority to impose criminal and civil penalties for littering on public roads.

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