Public street assessments, impound lot charges and even city collections efforts are on hiatus in St. Paul.
Through executive and administrative orders, Mayor Melvin Carter is reducing a series of fines, fees and collections in recognition of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The goal is to provide some relief for businesses and residents most impacted by COVID-19 and recent stay-at-home measures.
The city has reduced license fees by 25 percent for businesses ordered to close last month under Gov. Tim Walz’s emergency orders. Affected businesses range from bars and bowling centers to recycling collections sites, massage practitioners and movie theaters.
Those same businesses also get an extra 90 days to renew their licenses, allowing them to pay by Aug. 1 without penalty.
The mayor will waive towing and storage fees for city impound lots during the peacetime emergency. Charges will be waived for vehicles in the snow impound lot through May 6 and the Barge Channel lot through May 8.
In ordinary times, the city sends overdue notices, or dunning letters, when a debt to the city is more than 30 days past due, and again at the 60-day mark. At 90 days, the debt is referred to a collection agency.
Instead, the city will suspend all dunning and collection processes through June 30. Overdue notices still will be tracked but not sent to collection.
Multi-year street assessments that would have been levied this year will be delayed until next year. That includes street reconstruction projects, seal coating and mill and overlays.
The mayor had previously suspended water shut-offs in coordination with the St. Paul Board of Water Commissioners, and requested that the Ramsey County sheriff suspend evictions.
For now, the mayor can order most of the changes without the city council’s assent, though Council President Amy Brendmoen expressed enthusiasm for fine and fee relief efforts when the mayor presented his intent to the council a week ago.
“With executive orders, they’re time-bound,” mayoral spokesman Peter Leggett said Tuesday. “Certain ones will require city council action to be extended.”