City sets new police chief salary at $195K, pays deputy $175K, on one-year deals

Joseph P. Smith, Vineland Daily Journal
·2 min read

VINELAND — Salaries are locked in for the new leadership of the Vineland Police Department for 2023.

Police Chief Pedro Casiano will work off a base salary of $195,000, with a base salary of $175,000 for Deputy Police Chief Steven Triantos.

The two men were promoted in November 2022 to their positions. Casiano moved up from deputy chief and Triantos from captain. The City Council on Jan. 10 approved one-year contracts for both men.

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At its Jan. 24 meeting, the council adopted a revised salary ordinance to reflect those contracts. The ordinance sets a salary range of $126,692 to $195,000 for the position of chief, and of $140,000 to $175,000 for deputy chief.

However, city Administrator Robert Dickenson said Thursday those salary ranges are incorrect and will be adjusted shortly.

Pedro Casiano was named Vineland Deputy Police Chief at City Hall on Monday, Feb. 11, 2019.
Pedro Casiano was named Vineland Deputy Police Chief at City Hall on Monday, Feb. 11, 2019.

In the meantime, the city remains in a court fight with Casiano’s predecessor. Casiano replaced Chief Rudolph Beu after working under him as deputy chief.

Beu was suspended on Feb. 26, 2020 on multiple disciplinary charges. He has fought to get his job back through the state civil service system and in court. Vineland finally fired Beu in October 2022, but his litigation continues.

The council created the position of deputy chief in October 2018. Mayor Anthony Fanucci appointed Casiano on Feb. 11, 2019. At the time, Casiano had been a captain for about two years. In March 2019, the council approved a one-year deputy chief contract with Casiano for $145,000.

In January 2022, Casiano was given a one-year contract as interim police chief. The base salary was set at $180,000.

Beu was paid $150,960 for 2018 and $154,734 for 2019, under an agreement the council approved in May 2018.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Vineland Daily Journal: Salaries set for police chief, deputy chief city recently promoted