MUKILTEO — The city will be honoring former Councilman Charlie Pancerzewski during its Monday, Feb. 6 City Council meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
Pancerzewski died Dec. 15 at age 83. For over 50 years, he attended council meetings and provided meaningful insight to the Mayor and City Council. He also served on the City Council twice.
A plaque will be dedicated on the public speaker podium in Council Chambers to honor Pancerzewski’s legacy. Mayor Joe Marine will also read a proclamation honoring him. The public is invited to attend.
Professionally, Pancerzewski worked as a Microsoft internal auditor in the 1990s. He won a whistleblower protection act lawsuit when the company retaliated and forced him out after he raised red flags to top brass about manipulated, illegal bookkeeping inside the company, Seattle Weekly reported. Microsoft was using “cookie jar reserves” which go against good accounting practice, although Pancerzewski’s direct boss, CFO Mike Brown, allegedly supported methods like this to keep a positive financial appearance. How these reserves work is the company could grab money from the cookie jar account during underperforming fiscal quarters to give investors a financial picture that conceals losses and presents company performance as more stable.
