St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter told the city council on Wednesday his office is taking a hard look at waiving or seriously discounting fees and fines throughout the city, from business licenses to car storage fees at impound lots.

In coming weeks, Carter said he’ll ask the city council to reduce business license fees by 25 percent for the year. Businesses that have already paid their license fees to the city would see a discount in 2021.

In addition, the St. Paul Police Department and the city’s Office of Financial Empowerment are looking at waiving towing fees and storage charges for cars held at the city’s impound lots.

Carter said those charges hit the poor disproportionately hard. “We’re heading toward a new future but unfortunately, it is still challenging in the Twin Cities metro area (to get around) without a vehicle,” the mayor said.

Residents in recent days have expressed outrage about street maintenance assessments, another area where the mayor said the city is taking a look at possibly delaying payments through executive order.