Cars are parked along the side of Main Street in Slippery Rock on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. Main Street serves as a hub of businesses in the borough, many of which have benefited from reduced rates since 2019. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle.

Rob McGraw

Slippery Rock borough will keep many of its fees for new and existing businesses at a 25% reduction for the next year.

Mayor Jondavid Longo said borough council recently voted unanimously to approve his proposal to keep the reduction in place for the seventh year in a row.

Longo said the reduction applies to any fees related to simple subdivisions, land development, conditional use applications, zoning permits, variances and special exceptions, liquor license transfers, new sign permits, sign revisions and more.

“I wanted to change the borough so I looked for ways to say yes instead of no (to business owners),” he said.

Longo said he began spearheading a 50% reduction on fees in 2018 after he became mayor. In 2019, he and council decided to enact a compromise of 25% instead, which has been renewed every year since.

“It gave us a way to market Slippery Rock as open for business,” Longo said. “We also wanted to reward businesses that have already been here for a while, like Ginger Hill Tavern and North Country Brewery.”

He said he believes the reduction has been a boon for the borough, as over 30 businesses have opened since it was enacted. He highlighted examples such as Elephant #8 Thai Taste, Rooster’s Coffee Bar and the Steele Mill as small businesses that benefited.

“For new businesses, every penny matters,” Longo said. “A lot of these places are operating entirely off of startup capital and the first year or two will make or break a small business.”

Longo said he views the passing and six subsequent renewals as one of his biggest points of pride in his two terms as mayor and expressed his hope council will continue to keep rates reduced in the future.