COEUR d’ALENE — Councilman Dan Gookin said Thursday the city of Coeur d'Alene should consider a hiring freeze in light of what he believes are tough economic times ahead.

“I think we are at the dawn of a new long and deep recession,” he said during an overview of the city’s 2022-23 financial plan.

Council members and department heads attended the morning meeting and offered proposals that in many cases included additional staffing, new equipment, overdue repairs, updated software and increased spending.

Gookin called for caution. He said economic challenges are coming and "are going to hit us all hard."

“We've never used the word food shortage in this country before, and it's going to happen. And that's going to hit us," he said.

Gookin said a hiring freeze should be considered to ease the pending pain for residents.

“I represent the public, and they're gonna be hurting,” he said.

City Administrator Troy Tymesen said that in its last budget, the city was underwater by almost $1 million in ongoing expenses.

It is doing better now.

“The good news is we do have a healthy fund balance. We do have an urban renewal closing, and we have continued migration to our community,” he said.

Coeur d’Alene faces growth challenges that many communities desire to have, he said.

“That people want to be here," Tymesen said. "They love what they see, thus they come here.”

Departments also submitted spending proposals for the city's $8.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Those included $986,610 for 70 self-contained breathing apparatuses for the fire department; $547,855 for a network upgrade project for municipal services and $600,000 for street shop remodel.

Councilwoman Christie Wood said the city has many job openings and needs to come up with a way to entice workers to move here.

The police department has 13 openings, said Police Chief Lee White.

“That's the heart of public safety,” Wood said.

“What if we tried to move toward health care until you reached the age of 65? That's an attractive benefit," she said.

Councilwoman Kiki Miller, who serves on the Regional Housing and Growth Issues Partnership, said a focus needs to remain on affordable housing.

She said one study found that people between the ages of 30 and 40 are paying an average of 51% of their monthly income for rent.

“That is not sustainable," Miller said. "We have a lot of people moving out of this area."

Gookin said the city must realize it has lost the battle for affordable housing. While asking prices are coming down due to rising interest rates, assessed property values are going up. He said his home’s valuation just released by the county rose 42%, from about $800,000 to more than $1 million.

Councilman Woody McEvers and Mayor Jim Hammond both said the city needs to hire a public information officer. It has been several years since it last had one.

McEvers said city staff are doing amazing work, but the public doesn't know about it.

“I think it's important for folks to know that you guys are No. 1. You’re out there killing it," McEvers said.

Hammond said the city needs to tell its story to its residents.

“Getting actual facts out, I think, is important. And I think it's a disservice to our community not to do that," he said. "I think people deserve to know what's really going on within their city."

The city’s 2021-22 fiscal year budget was about $109 million.

The City Council will continue to crunch budget numbers. It is scheduled to adopt a preliminary budget in August and set a 2022-23 fiscal year budget in September.