SAINT JOHN, N.B. – Councillor Donnie Snook is very disappointed with the way city hall has gone about converting the city’s pension plan.

In a secret Thursday night meeting, the city agreed to pay the new plan’s long term disability for the next 2 years, in order to have it converted into a shared risk model by the new year.

Snook tells the Todd Veinotte Show he believes only those with a city pension have benefited from the change.

“What the unions have here is an absolute improvement in their plan. Not only that we’re covering 100% of the benefit but they have gone to what they call own occupation/ two years which is a better coverage than what they currently had.”

The cost of covering the long term disability will be $2.4-million.

Mayor Mel Norton, city union leaders, and the province signed a memorandum of understanding, for the conversion to the shared risk model, Friday morning.