Nora Mishanec reports for Columbia-Greene Media that though Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson announced a 10 percent cut in the city's police budget two months ago, the cuts have not yet been made. “It would be almost impossible to make significant cuts in the Hudson Police Department budget without either significant concessions from the union, or a reduction in the size of the force,” City Treasurer Heather Campbell said, explaining that "very little" of the police budget is discretionary. Johnson said that Police Commissioner Peter Volkmann is looking for parts of the budget that have “too much padding,” and Volkmann has a report due to Johnson this month. Johnson instituted a hiring freeze in a June 15 executive order. Sgt. Dean Rowe retired July 9, and a police officer will be promoted to fill his role, allowed under the executive order. The budget may increase if Hudson loses a legal dispute with the police department’s union, the New York State Law Enforcement Officers Union, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Council 82, Local 3979. Full disclosure: Johnson is a volunteer WGXC programmer. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.