City officials discussed the future of Schenectady's budget, specifically with what cuts could be made in the police department. Erin Vannella has more on what was discussed.

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SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Positions to cut, overtime to eliminate, salaries to slice. Those were all options that the Schenectady City Council and its police department took a look at during a budget hearing Wednesday night.

The budget proposed by Mayor Gary McCarthy a week ago included a 4.1 percent tax increase. He said the hike was needed because the city was owed over $12 million in delinquent taxes.

On the table this time was where to save money in the police department. One potential cut is the position of assistant chief.

“There is no fat. Everything we cut from this point on is going to hurt. We could shave some off, possibly, maybe overtime. I think when you keep cutting, you get to a point where you're being unrealistic,” said Schenectady Police chief Mark Chaires.

The Chief says overtime can reach almost a million dollars a year and 2012 is looking to be the same. There was quite a bit of overtime used this year to look for replacements: Twenty officers retired in 2012. But the chief says the city will see savings in the long-run, since the retired will eventually be replaced by salary-capped academy grads