City council Thursday night approved the city’s application for its 2013 Community Development Block Grant.

The $300,000 federal grant will be used for city improvements, according to Art Cordwell, the director of the redevelopment authority.

About $80,000 will go to buy property for economic development in the city while $50,000 will go to street improvements for the downtown Centre City project, Cordwell said.

The money for Centre City will help finance improvements such as burying utility lines.

The fire department will benefit from $48,000 to pay off a new rescue truck.

About $30,000 of the grant will be used to renovate residential housing, Cordwell said.

The remaining funds will go for administrative costs, the removal of blighted buildings and code enforcement.

The city received the same amount of funds for the grant last year. Mayor Maggie Stock pointed out the city used to receive about $600,000 when she started as mayor eight years ago.

Cordwell said the authority just got the grant application two weeks ago, and the deadline to apply is Sept. 6, making the process rushed.

One of the guidelines of the grant is that 70 percent of the funds must be dedicated to benefit low and moderate income neighborhoods.