MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake City Council approved a budget for its use of federal COVID-19 grant funds at Tuesday’s council meeting, including an allocation for limited relief for delinquent utility bill payers and for an overhaul of the council chamber’s audio/video systems.

In total, the city received $726,600 from Congress’ CARES grant, passed to help mitigate the economic fallout of COVID-19. Municipalities are able to use the funds for necessary expenses related to the COVID-19 emergency so long as it isn’t to fill a shortfall in government revenues and the expense wasn’t already funded through the existing budget before March 27.

In other words, the grant funds could be used to address additional costs directly related to the pandemic, but not to replace reduced revenue, which has been the bigger hit for most municipalities in the wake of COVID-19, said Finance Director Cindy Jensen in an interview.

Around 10 percent of the grant package, $66,055, was allocated for administrative costs, a common feature of federal grants, Jensen said.

“We have directed staff duties for getting the COVID information out, getting protocols into place, retrofitting our facilities, and that’s a huge part of what we’re trying to recapture,” City Manager Allison Williams said of the allocation at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Another $32,000 would go to recoup other costs already spent addressing the virus, Jensen said, including costs for teleconferencing software and hardware for city staff unable to meet in person with each other and the public. It would also cover the cost of personal protective equipment for city staff, as well as paid time off directly caused by the virus or school closures.

To cover added costs to building maintenance staff and parks programs, which will have to ratchet up cleaning and safety measures before the county reaches Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan, another $50,000 was allocated.

The largest budget item was for the building of a homeless shelter, the location of which remains undetermined, for $175,000.

The second-largest budget item, $160,000, was for revamping the audio-video equipment in the council chambers, as well as to build an overflow room in city hall’s auditorium. This is needed, according to city officials, to replace aging equipment in order to give the public better access to council meetings.

City officials did not appear to indicate how the new AV system would provide substantially better access than the current system, which allows the public to phone into meetings or watch them online. However, city staff did note in the council’s agenda packet that the repairs for the older equipment were becoming more difficult as parts were retired by manufacturers.

Another $24,000 would be spent matching the downtown small-business grant program to augment funds funneled through the county’s economic development council.

Approximately $50,000 was allocated for relief for utility bill payments by people whose employment has been affected by the pandemic. The state has previously ordered a halt to all shut-offs and late fees for residents across Washington, due to concerns that unemployment caused by closures would be the cause of their delinquency.

Finally, the balance of the grant, $119,545, would be allocated for recouping the costs of public safety staff whose duties were significantly redirected due to the pandemic.

Though the grant restricts municipalities from using the money to cover costs already addressed in the city budget, an exception exists if the duties of staff were significantly changed in response to COVID-19, Jensen said.