Slippery Rock Borough made a plan seven years ago to reduce many of the costs associated with opening new businesses and making changes to existing ones.

When Mayor Jondavid Longo took office, he came into his position with a plan to cut those fees by 50%, but eventually agreed on a 25% cut with council’s support.

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

This year, council voted to keep those reduced fees in place for the seventh year.

The fees that have been reduced range from costs associated with simple subdivisions, land development, conditional use applications, zoning permits, variances and special exceptions, liquor license transfers, new sign permits, sign revisions and more.

This may not sound like much, but to an entrepreneur who is looking for a place to set up shop it might just be the reason they choose Slippery Rock over another location. In a time when opening a business at all is a huge gamble, this borough is making a pitch that it makes sense to take that risk in Slippery Rock because they care about local businesses.

When communities talk about development, redevelopment or building up their business community, a common theme often emerges — how business friendly is your town? It’s a wide-ranging question and lowering fees in some areas isn’t the only answer, but it’s certainly a start.

Longo said more than 30 businesses have opened in the seven years since the reduction in fees was introduced, including Elephant #8 Thai Taste, Rooster’s Coffee Bar and the Steele Mill.

This plan is something Longo talks about as a point of pride and it should be — other communities looking to make an impact in their business districts should consider similar options.

Small businesses are often made and broken over pennies — they all count.