Politics & Government

Borough Administrator May Officially Become 'Appropriate Authority' of FLPD

An ordinance introduced Thursday would make a previously informal policy a formal one, giving the borough administrator responsibilities to act after the chief of police has ruled in disciplinary matters.

The Fort Lee Mayor and Council introduced an ordinance Thursday that would designate Borough Administrator Peggy Thomas as the “appropriate authority” of the , essentially making formal an informal policy the borough has been using for a long time, according to officials.

Under the ordinance, which the governing body voted unanimously to introduce and set a public hearing for its next regular meeting in August, the overall policy of the police department, such as its size and organization, remains under the control of the governing body, and day-to-day supervision of the department rests with the police chief.

The appropriate authority is a civilian authority. The duties of the appropriate authority are outside the purview of the police chief in dealing with police disciplinary matters.

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Borough attorney Lee Cohen called the ordinance a “codification of the existing practice.”

“The appropriate authority only acts after the chief of police has approved disciplinary charges against a police officer and conducted and internal investigation and made a finding,” Cohen said.

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If after such an investigation an officer is not satisfied with the chief’s finding, he or she is entitled to another hearing, which, by statute, falls to the governing body to adjudicate. However the Mayor and Council can also appoint an “appropriate authority” to rule, which is what Thomas has been doing and which the ordinance introduced Monday makes official.

Fort Lee resident Vinnie Spina, questioning certain aspects of the ordinance, said, “You’re basically making a public safety director,” but Cohen said that’s not the case.

“[The appropriate authority] has nothing to do with supervision,” Cohen said, adding that Thomas has already been acting in the role “on an ad hoc basis.”

“Now we’re doing it on a permanent basis,” Cohen said. “It’s only ruling on discipline.”

He added, “What we’re doing has worked in this town for decades now without change. This just formalizes an informal practice, and it works in every other town where there is this set up and has for the 36 years that I’ve been practicing.”

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