Who We Are
Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts - Staff
Interim Director and Chief Economist. Jan Duras has joined City of Seattle's forecasting team in 2019. He is an economist with twenty years of experience in government and academia producing forecasts, conducting research, and teaching macroeconomics, forecasting, as well as labor economics and public economics. Jan received his M.A. degree in economics from CERGE-EI and his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota.
Regional Economist. Sean Thompson was hired in 2022, and supplements the forecasting team in critical operations with his experience in econometrics and ad hoc analysis. Sean earned a B.S. in economics with honors from the University of Washington, with a background of research into Seattle property and strong coursework in applied economics and statistics.
Economic and Revenue Forecast Council
The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (Forecast Council) provides independent oversight of the economic and revenue forecasts that underlie the City's annual budget process. The Forecast Council directs the work of the Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts, which is tasked with developing these forecasts, and performing related analyses on behalf of the Council. The Forecast Council has four members: the Council President or designee, the Chair of the City Council Finance Committee or designee, the Mayor or designee, and the Director of Finance. Current membership includes:
Council President Sara Nelson
Councilmember Dan Strauss
Mayor's Chief of Staff and General Counsel Jeremy Racca
Finance Director Jamie Carnell
Authorizing Legislation and Policies
Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts was established in 2021. It is structured similarly as King County’s Office of Economic and Financial Analysis and Washington State’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. Per establishing ordinance: “The Office shall staff the Forecast Council, perform economic and revenue forecasts, conduct special studies at the request of the Forecast Council, and provide ad hoc analytical support on economic and revenue estimation for legislative and executive staff consistent with the work program. Such analyses shall be nonpartisan, and confidential to the extent allowed by law.”
Legislation Creating the Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts
Policy for Sharing Forecast Office Research Between the Legisative and Executive Branches