A conversation with Fort Lee Borough Administrator, Peggy Thomas

Over the years I have attended numerous council meetings, and I have witnessed the participation of the Borough Administrator, Peggy Thomas.  However, I was not quite sure what her position entailed.  Accordingly, I sat down with Ms. Thomas to learn more about her role as Fort Lee Borough Administrator.

In a position that has historically been known to have regular turnover, Peggy Thomas has been the Fort Lee Borough Administrator since October 1993.  As the Borough Administrator, she runs the day-to-day business of the Borough and reports directly to the Mayor and Council and serves at their pleasure.

The position of the Borough Administrator is quite demanding and requires a working knowledge of a host of areas that are important to keeping Fort Lee functioning.  These include, Budget, Public Works, Health, Technology, and Emergency Services, as well as, personnel issues, and contracts. 

Most municipal departments report to Ms. Thomas and she is responsible for budgeting their fiscal needs.  Ms. Thomas also works closely with the Borough Chief Financial Officer with respect to Fort Lee’s budget.

She spends a fair amount of time addressing and researching issues brought to her attention by residents, civic groups and Borough employees and Ms. Thomas evaluates the feasibility and affordability of a given proposal, project or purchase.  

During her tenure, Ms. Thomas has dealt with numerous emergencies including storms, fires, accidents and power outages.  However, the event that stands out most in her mind was during 9/11, when the Port Authority officers patrolling the George Washington Bridge, were directed to respond to Ground Zero.

Fort Lee then became solely responsible for protecting the George Washington Bridge.  According to Ms. Thomas, “there was a fear of a terrorist attack on the bridge as we were also setting up a triage center at Fort Lee High School for injured victims.  However, no one arrived.”

In the event of an emergency, Ms. Thomas coordinates efforts with DPW and/or Emergency Services about what resources are needed to deal with a given event.

Apart from dealing with emergencies, Ms. Thomas has also been involved with town improvement projects including upgrading parks and the construction of the Fort Lee Community Center.

Ms. Thomas’ position also requires involvement in Council meetings, providing information to Mayor and Council and preparing the agenda to address necessary items and issues.

Ms. Thomas finds her position to be a personally rewarding one in that she “helps in planning and overseeing projects that will benefit the community. “  However, she added, “with current budgets constraints we are pressed to do a lot more with less.”

She emphasized that Fort Lee is a well-run and financially stable community. 

She was also involved in several aspects of the Area 5 Development Project.  She hopes the Area 5 development removes the scar on the landscape that has existed for over 40 years.  In response to complaints about possible increased traffic as a result of development, Ms. Thomas replied that we “can’t let traffic be the reason we don’t develop and grow, otherwise, we let people outside the community define who we are.”

In discussing the demographics of Fort Lee, Ms. Thomas stated that the cultural blending within the community is happening more and more and is only an asset to us.  The growing and diverse population has also increased community activities, which are on a much larger scale than in the past.

Ms. Thomas must also think of new ways to operate and innovate with respect to carrying out her duties.  She constantly evaluates how the Borough could purchase supplies, equipment and services more efficiently.  Fort Lee has joined co-ops to purchase services and products such as electricity, insurance, generators and roof supplies, which, Ms. Thomas says, has significantly cut costs.

The town has also participated in shared service agreements with surrounding towns with respect to DPW and service departments sharing heavy equipment and bartering for services.

Ms. Thomas assists in administering a working budget of approximately $67,000,000, 275 full time employees and 100 part time employees serving a town of approximately 35,000 residents.  All in all, Ms. Thomas said, “Fort Lee matches up well against other towns in Bergen County.”