A Carbon County judge will hear arguments on a petition for review of an arbitration award filed by Lansford’s former police chief in April.

The court originally scheduled arguments for next week, but now will hear them April 16.

Former police Chief Jack Soberick filed the statutory appeal following an arbitration ruling in July 2023, which stemmed from a grievance filed in August 2022 – three months after he retired.

The grievance dealt with unused sick, compensatory, vacation and personal time as well as the amount of the pension benefit.

The arbitrator granted Soberick’s claim for unused sick and compensatory time, partially granted his claim on unused vacation time, but denied his claim for unused personal days and additional funds in his monthly pension benefits.

In the arbitration award, the Borough of Lansford was directed to pay Soberick 395 hours of unused compensatory time and 655 hours of unused sick time.

The borough was also directed to calculate and pay Soberick for six weeks unused vacation, plus 10 carry over days, less any vacation days used in 2022; and unused vacation days from 2020 and 2021 that weren’t cashed in or carried over.

The arbitrator ruled against Soberick regarding being compensated for unused personal days, and also in the calculation of the retirement benefit.

Soberick claims the pension benefit should be calculated at 50% of his last 36 months average salary, including overtime. He estimated the benefit would be about $550 more a month above the $2,759 a month the borough calculated without the overtime, court papers said.

In Carbon County court, Soberick is seeking a review of the pension benefit calculation and asking the court to order the higher pension benefit with the overtime. The filing does not address the 19 unused personal days, which were also denied in arbitration.

Lansford Borough’s brief in opposition to the appeal points out that Soberick’s contract set forth a grievance process, which called for final and binding arbitration.

“Soberick is not now entitled to disregard that agreed-upon language simply because he did not like the result,” the borough’s labor attorney, Michael McAuliffe Miller, of Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott, LLC of Harrisburg, wrote.

Miller’s brief continues with legal arguments and citations regarding the narrow review of an arbitration award and opposition to Soberick’s filing.

Soberick is represented by Richardson Todd Eagen of Welby, Stoltenberg, Cimballa & Cook LLC, of Harrisburg.