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Committee recommends confirmation of Ally Panucci as Seattle’s budget director
Summary
The Seattle City Council Finance and Native Communities & Tribal Governments Committee voted 4-0 to recommend confirming Ally Panucci as director of the City Budget Office for a term through Dec. 31, 2029, after a question-and-answer focused on the city’s structural budget deficit and permit-fee pressures.
The Seattle City Council’s Finance and Native Communities & Tribal Governments Committee on Feb. 17 voted to recommend confirmation of Ally Panucci as director of the City Budget Office, forwarding the appointment to the full Council’s Feb. 24 meeting.
Chair Dan Strauss moved the committee recommendation and it was seconded; the clerk recorded a 4-0 roll call in favor (Council president Hollingsworth, Council member Saka, Vice chair Rivera and Chair Strauss). The appointment is for a term to Dec. 31, 2029.
Panucci, who has served as interim director, told the committee the city faces a structural budget gap and that “we either need to reduce expenses or increase revenues or some of both,” urging a combination of spending reviews and revenue options. Members pressed for specifics on how the Budget Office would approach underspend and core staffing pressures.
Panucci said she intends to evaluate patterns of departmental underspend and consider right-sizing budgets to remove underspend assumptions while noting trade-offs: tighter budgets reduce flexibility to respond to emergent issues. On permitting and SDCI core staffing, she noted the department’s revenues are sensitive to development cycles and said the council-approved 18% fee increase this year was intended to help structural balance; she indicated further fee increases and efficiency measures may be needed to sustain core staffing rather than subsidizing the work from general fund balances.
Several council members expressed support for Panucci’s candid approach. Vice chair Rivera praised her answers, saying the responses underscored the need to distinguish statutorily required services from other programs and to be realistic about trade-offs. Strauss emphasized the importance of timely transmission of budget-related bills and asked Panucci to work toward calendars that allow council review before the budget cycle; Panucci referenced an earlier resolution setting a June 20 target for midyear bill delivery and said staff would continue to align department schedules.
The committee’s vote sends the nomination to the full Council with the recommendation of confirmation. The appointment will be considered at the Feb. 24 Council meeting.
