RICHMOND — Recently certified “businessfriendly,” town officials in Richmond received their official certification and road signs in an event earlier this month, attended by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner George Gervais.

To be certified “business-friendly,” multiple areas of criteria are considered, including customer service, business involvement and collaboration, input from the public, and licensing and permitting.

“We are very pleased to get this recognition from the state for our business development efforts. We feel the town, in collaboration with its businesses and community leaders, has taken great strides to create a welcoming place to do business. This certification will allow us to showcase our efforts and hopefully attract new business,” said Town Manager Marian Anderson.

A team of public and private economic development experts reviews each application to determine eligibility in the program. Some business-friendly initiatives the review committee highlighted included:

— Richmond’s active membership and participation in the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber.

— Its collaboration with local businesses to produce a business resource guide.

— The town’s successful utilization of local, state and federal programs resulting in significant investments into public infrastructure and downtown revitalization.

“Congratulations to Richmond for making it easier and more efficient for job creators to do business here,” said Commissioner Gervais. “I hope the certification reminds the town to ask itself when considering new actions or initiatives — ‘Will this make Richmond a more business friendly place to do business?’”

Since the LePage administration launched the program in March of 2012, a total of 20 Maine communities have received the business friendly status. Communities named business friendly are presented with a certificate, two MaineDOT road signs and become a key part of Maine’s business attraction strategy.