Aliya Schneider is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the members of the Hudson Police Department will retroactively receive 1.5 percent pay hikes in 2021. The raises were put on hold when officials were unsure of the pandemic’s impact on city finances and the funds allocated for raises have been held in a contingency fund. City officials and the police union agreed that the department would forgo the salary increases for the year if officials would agree to review city finances and reinstate the pay increase at mid-year. The Board of Estimate and Apportionment, made up of Mayor Kamal Johnson, Common Council President Thomas DePietro and Treasurer Heather Campbell, determined that the raises could be reinstated in full. The Common Council approved a resolution authorizing the pay hike July 20; seven members voted in favor, two abstained and one member was absent. “It was felt that because [the budget] came in considerably better than we had anticipated and given the fact that the Civil Service Employees Association folks all got their raise, it seemed only fair the HPD would get theirs as well,” Campbell said. Note: Johnson and DePietro are volunteer WGXC on-air programmers Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.