A Carbon County judge on Wednesday denied a petition for review of an arbitrator’s award seeking a higher pension calculation filed by Lansford’s former police chief.

Carbon County President Judge Roger N. Nanovic concluded that former police Chief Jack Soberick had no right to the additional benefit he sought.

Further, the court was unable to change the arbitrator’s award, if a mistake of law or fact had occurred, under the rules to review binding arbitration, Nanovic wrote.

Soberick filed a grievance three months following his retirement in May 2022, seeking unused sick, compensatory, vacation and personal time, as well as a higher pension calculation.

An arbitration award this past July granted Soberick the various time in dispute, but agreed with the borough’s calculation of his pension of $2,759 a month, which was calculated without overtime.

Soberick then sought a review of the award regarding the higher pension calculation with the overtime, which he estimated at an additional $550 a month, in Carbon County Court.

Judge Nanovic heard arguments from attorneys Richardson Todd Eagen, representing Soberick, and Michael Miller, representing the Borough of Lansford, last month.

Nanovic concluded that Soberick is only entitled to receive additional benefits provided to other full-time police officers, and the police department had not been provided the additional benefit that Soberick sought.

That additional benefit was the inclusion of overtime pay in the calculation of the average monthly salary for the determining monthly pension, Nanovic wrote. The borough never amended its pension ordinance to add the benefit and comply with the police contract.

Soberick’s contract, which was separate from the borough’s contract with the police union, had a “me too” clause, which stated that he was entitled to any benefit that full-time officers received.

“Soberick has no right to an unrealized amendment of the borough’s pension ordinance required in a contract to which he is not a party, the benefits of which have yet to be provided to the other members of the police department,” the judge concluded.