Coaldale Police Chief Tim Delaney says his disability has become permanent and he wants the borough to pay his disability retirement benefit, which is spelled out in the police pension plan, according to a lawsuit he filed in Schuylkill County Court this week.

The benefit would be 65 percent of his $53,000 annual salary, or about $35,000 per year. He is also seeking costs, interest and attorney's fees.Borough council President Thomas Keerans contends that Delaney has been asked to report back to duty and has not complied.Keerans said that last fall, borough council sent several letters to Delaney asking him to return to work.Delaney became disabled due to an incident involving a stun gun on Aug. 13, 2013.According to Delaney, when he picked up the piece of equipment, it malfunctioned, injuring his dominant (shooting) hand.Since then, the borough had been paying about one-third of Delaney's $53,000 salary, with the remaining two-thirds paid by workers' compensation.Keerans said Delaney is still being paid workers' compensation.The borough was responsible for paying the remaining one-third of Delaney's salary, or about $17,770, because of Heart and Lung Act benefit requirements. The Heart and Lung benefits are through a national act ensuring that public safety personnel get full compensation, their full rate of salary and medical expenses, while they are unable to work while disabled from an injury that occurred during the performance of duty. According to the Heart and Lung Act definition, the employee must have been "engaged in an obligatory task, conduct, service or function which arises from the position."In August 2014, after paying the Heart and Lung benefit for a year, council members voted 4-2 to stop paying the benefit. Voting to stop paying the benefits were Keerans, Linda Miller, Harry Hontz and Michael Doerr. Council members Angela Krapf, who was then council president, and Brenda Hosler voted to keep paying the benefits. The borough's insurance carrier does not cover Heart and Lung benefits.Delaney joined the Coaldale Police Department in 2004, and became chief in December 2004, after Shawn Nihen resigned.Delaney's lawsuit is not the only litigation between the town and members of its police department. In February 2012, borough council furloughed its three full-time officers, Sgt. Keith Krapf and officers Charles Blesse and Todd Weiss.The three continued to work for the borough as part-time officers, but they didn't have healthbenefits.With new members seated in January 2014, council voted to reopen the budget.In April 2014, with council then headed by Krapf, wife of Keith Krapf, council reinstated the full-time positions with benefits for the three officers. The three officers had filed a lawsuit in Schuylkill County Court seeking back pay; the lawsuit is still pending.Keerans said that the current council is reviewing a proposed police contract."The last council had come to terms with the officers, but the contract was never ratified by council or the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police)," he said. "We are reviewing the contract and will ratify it at the next meeting."