Vineland Mayor Highlights Pandemic Response, Small Business Grants in State Address

Mayor Anthony Fanucci used the State of the City address to outline how Vineland navigated 2020’s pandemic pressures and to spotlight local relief aimed at small businesses. Speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Greater Vineland Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by South Jersey Federal Credit Union on January 21, 2026, Fanucci framed municipal priorities around continuing essential services and keeping economic activity alive.

"Covid-19 has presented a multitude of challenges in providing critical services to the community that the community relies upon - from ensuring public safety, the code enforcement planning zoning, permitting ongoing infrastructure projects," Fanucci said, stressing the operational challenges city government faced. He noted municipal buildings have been closed to the public but staff have remained active. "While municipal buildings have been closed to the public since April, we have not stopped working to provide these services and more."

A central policy highlight was use of federal relief dollars. Fanucci said the city allocated part of its 2020 CARES Act emergency funding to a targeted forgivable grant assistance program for Vineland retail, restaurant, entertainment, and non-professional service-type businesses with five or fewer employees. "The city utilized a portion of our 2020 Cares Act emergency funding to establish a forgivable grant assistance program for Vineland retail, restaurant, entertainment, and non-professional service-type businesses with five or fewer employees," he said, and he warned that the program "still has a limited amount of funding available."

The mayor tied municipal enforcement and economic recovery to community participation. "One of the big things we want to continue, is people being proactive," Fanucci said, urging residents to report neighborhood problems. "One of the big things we’re trying to do is clean the city. If they see illegal dumping, if they see trash in areas where it doesn’t belong, to please notify us and let us know." He also pressed for local spending: "Continue to support the businesses here in Vineland. Spend some money here. Spend some time here. Help us help ourselves and help our businesses."

Fanucci closed with a personal reflection on public service, describing routine work as its own reward. "Just waking up every day, knowing that I get to serve the town in which I was born and raised and grew up," he said. "[C]oming out here and seeing the improvements and seeing the strides that we’ve made in the last four-plus years, it gives me such an overwhelming sense of pride every day. And getting up and coming to work with people that I care about."

For Vineland residents, the address clarified where city leaders have directed scarce public dollars and where civic action can shape outcomes. Small businesses with five or fewer employees remain a visible priority, though limited grant funds mean demand may outpace supply. Reporting illegal dumping and choosing to spend locally are immediate ways residents can support the mayor’s recovery strategy as the city moves into its next budget and permitting cycles.