The Martinsville City Council emerged from closed session Wednesday evening and placed City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides on paid administrative leave one day after voting 3-2 to give her a raise of over $30,000. They also voted Wednesday to pursue a forensic audit of the city’s finances.
Mayor L.C. Jones was the lone dissenting vote in both measures following the council’s specially called closed meeting on Wednesday, a day after finalizing her pay raise from $183,500 to $215,000.
On the same day, a Texas city announced that Ferrell-Benavides is a finalist for its city manager position.
Wednesday’s decision comes more than a month after Ferrell-Benavides returned from a leave of absence that ended on June 10. City staff cited privacy laws and would not disclose the reason behind the leave of absence.
“I can’t comment on a personnel matter at this time,” council member Kathy Lawson said, echoing members Aaron Rawls and Julian Mei, who said the comments they can offer about a closed session meeting are limited.
Following the closed session, councilors not only voted to place the city manager on leave but also to assign $20,000 from the current fiscal year’s budget to the proposed audit. The council plans to retain Roanoke-based accounting services firm Brown Edwards.
Councilors voted to approve the audit before voting to place Ferrell-Benavides on administrative leave.
“There was a question raised about funding, and to have an accurate accounting, we feel the audit is necessary,” Lawson said about the council’s decision to conduct a forensic audit. “This is in [the] preliminary stage at this time.”
In May, Rawls filed a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request into city government spending. On Thursday, Rawls said he has “grave concerns” about city spending and the willingness of officials to investigate potential wrongdoing.
Rawls is currently the plaintiff in an ongoing federal lawsuit against Ferrell-Benavides and Martinsville sheriff’s Deputy Reva Keen. The suit stems from an incident during a March council meeting in which Rawls was forcibly removed from the building. This happened before Rawls made his FOIA request.
The documents revealed trip-related expenses including airfare and hotel stays. For example, the March 2025 statement details a $1,618 charge associated with the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. Another charge of $612 was associated with the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Strasburg. In January 2025, the list of charges included $543 plane tickets to Fort Worth, Texas, for Ferrell-Benavides and other staff members.
In the past, Ferrell-Benavides said many of the travel-related expenses stem from staff attending conferences and training. Lawson said an audit is necessary to confirm that the spending is above board.
“Once we receive credible reports of wrongdoing we are obligated to act in our community’s best interest,” Rawls said. “Time and time again we see that individual loyalties and self-gain override doing what is right for our community. I look forward to our citizens reading about the behavior of their elected representatives first-hand.”
Jones and Councilor Rayshaun Gravely could not be reached for comment.
On the same day as the city manager’s administrative leave, a city in Texas announced that Ferrell-Benavides is one of four finalists for its city manager position. Elgin is a three-hour drive from Duncanville, where Ferrell-Benavides was a city manager until 2023, when she was hired in Martinsville.
“Candidates Aretha Resu Ferrell-Benavides … were selected after a three-month national search conducted by municipal recruiting firm SGR,” reads information on Elgin’s website.
A meet-and-greet is currently scheduled for July 29, while formal interviews will be held during an executive session the next day.
Elgin published its press release on Wednesday. That evening, not all members of the Martinsville City Council knew that Ferrell-Benavides had been named a finalist for another city manager position.
“I was unaware of it until I was alerted of it shortly after last night’s meeting,” Mei said. “Councilman Rawls told me he was also unaware, but I am not sure if other council members or staff were aware. I did send an email to the rest of council after learning of this last night, in case they were not aware.”
Rawls urged his Elgin counterparts to take care with their decision.
“I would strongly encourage any governing body to thoroughly research all candidates for a city executive role,” Rawls said in an email to Cardinal News on Thursday. “These individuals oversee millions of dollars in assets and such an environment requires professional, ethical, and dedicated leadership. A bad hiring decision can wreak absolute havoc on a community. Choose wisely.”
