Shane W Potter

A plan to put together a locally sourced and funded loan program for businesses and nonprofits in Slippery Rock was temporarily shelved after discussion at the borough council meeting Tuesday, July 15.

The plan, conceived by borough manager Christian Laskey and Mayor Jondavid Longo in May, hit a snag when borough solicitor Rebecca Black pointed out it runs afoul of the borough code.

“The problem is how it’s being funded.” Black said.

According to her, under the code, while council is authorized to undertake community development projects, tax revenue cannot be used for grants or loans for that purpose.

“Everybody’s paying taxes and not everybody owns a small business,” Black said. “Even though a lot of people would benefit from the economic development, it’s not always seen as that, at least in short term.”

Black said she has come across other municipalities handling similar projects through partnerships with county groups or donations from big business; or through other means, such as tax forgiveness, which acts like a semi-loan.

Laskey said the next step for the future of the plan would entail researching other options that can help the borough accomplish its goal.

“Now we gotta circle back and think,” Laskey said. “The idea is still there, we just need to find a funding source.”

Laskey said the original plan of creating what was essentially an infrastructure bank for small businesses and nonprofits emerged when he and Longo noticed recurring problems local businesses were facing in the area getting small business loans, especially post COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s become a problem because it’s hindering economic development downtown,” Laskey said.

The situation is particularly tough during the summer, when many students at Slippery Rock University are not on the campus.

“All summer long, you gotta figure how to make that lapse of population work for you,” Laskey said. “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here. We want to make it as easy as possible.”