Tensions in Martinsville are again running high, even after the city council placed City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides on paid administrative leave and approved funds for a forensic audit during a July meeting.
Shortly after those actions, it was reported that Ferrell-Benavides was one of four finalists for the city manager’s job in Elgin, Texas. She visited there for a meet-and-greet and to interview for that position.
“I don’t blame her,” Mayor LC Jones said. “You’re in a place of uncertainty. She’s got council members who have continued to disrespect her, accuse her falsely in public, call other cities, dredge up old issues. That’s a lot.”
Jones criticized coverage of her in Texas, referencing articles in the Martinsville Bulletin that included a detailed report on her visit and an alleged interview with her.
“I saw the Bulletin article,” Jones said. “Why was it so important to fly all the way to Texas for that? That interview could’ve been done on the phone. It just feels like a targeted attack.”
Jones said he wonders who funded the trip.
“Did Lee Enterprises (owner of the paper) pay for this? Who is paying for him to be out there?” he asked, referring to Bulletin reporter Bill Wyatt. “It just doesn’t make sense for me for a local newspaper to send a reporter to Texas for a story when we’re having murders in Martinsville and Henry County, or shootings, every week.”
He also questioned the nature of the interview itself.
“Is this an actual interview that she participated in, or is this a consensual conversation between him and her that he recorded and then turned into an interview?” he asked.
Jones said Ferrell-Benavides has been under immense pressure — some of which she talked about during the interview, including an investigation “that involved an interview with inappropriate questions,” an alleged February break-in at her office, and fear for her personal safety.
In the Bulletin story, Ferrell-Benavides also is quoted as saying Standfield “became a whistleblower by declaring improprieties that didn’t exist and taking credit for fixing financial problems that others had resolved.”
“I wish she’d just start talking—really talking—about what she’s been dealing with,” Jones said. “But I get it. She can’t even go get a pizza without somebody taking her picture.”
Jones said Council Member Aaron Rawls has already spoken about the whistleblower complaint from Chief Financial Officer Richard Standfield, but believes Ferrell-Benavides should be allowed to tell her side.
“Like the credit card statements — it was in her budget. Talk about it. Talk about the goals of council she was trying to meet that were part of the retreat that she felt like she was fulfilling expectations in,” he said. “Council members went. Talk about the council members who went the previous year before, which Councilman Rawls was a part of. Talk about how former Council Member (Tammy) Pearson went on trips and then canceled at the last minute, and the city — taxpayer money — was stuck with the bill because she didn’t cancel in time.”
Jones said Ferrell-Benavides is invested in the city — not just with her time, but financially and personally.
“She bought a $400,000 house here. She pays her taxes here. She joined clubs, paid out of her own pocket to put on events for this city,” Jones said. “She wanted to be here. But politics ruined that.”
He said replacing her won’t be easy — or cheap.
“You’re not going to get anyone worth hiring at $215,000 in a city manager form of government,” Jones said. “That’s a CEO role. We’re either going to be paying someone even more, or bringing someone in and hoping they figure it out.”
He noted that other cities with smaller populations pay more, and emphasized the complexity of the job.
“This isn’t about population. This is about the job. The experience. The responsibility,” he said. “And what we’ve got here now would scare good candidates off.”
According to Jones, Ferrell-Benavides was not made aware of the details of the internal investigation and did not request the raise she received on April 1.
“She asked for a review,” he said. “The raise came from council members saying she deserved one. But even then, she had no context, no idea what was really going on with the investigation.”
Jones said he was the one who first called for an investigation after credit card statements were released online and questions began circulating.
“People were posting the credit card stuff online saying, ‘What’s going on here,’ but the big-ticket items weren’t hers,” he said. “People got mad about training, but it’s stuff council members have been attending for years. This year, we just brought students and chaperones. Everyone had to eat. I stand by it.”
The council recently approved a motion to commission a forensic audit. Ferrell Benavides was quoted in the Bulletin calling it unnecessary, saying, “If council didn’t want me, all they had to do was tell me. I would have left. This has all been too much for everyone.”
Jones said he’s concerned about the audit’s cost and scope, which he said has ballooned under the guidance of the city’s legal team.
“They were supposed to verify the complaint and give us advice. But then it turned into this months-long thing with $22,000 invoices and zero answers,” he said. “They’re doing interviews with employees, charging $1,400 a pop, and it’s all being driven by one council member feeding them rumors.”
Jones said both the city manager and the whistleblower should have been placed on leave at the start of the investigation.
“Both of them had access to systems and data. We should’ve just put them both on paid leave while the claims were being validated,” he said. “That should’ve taken three weeks tops. Instead, we’re three months in and $60,000 deep with no resolution.”
He reiterated his call for an external investigation by a state agency.
“This is no different than a police department trying to investigate itself,” Jones said. “You don’t do that. You bring in an outside agency. We didn’t. And this is the result.”
Jones said Ferrell-Benavides has been kept largely in the dark and now has “no real idea what’s happening.”
“She’s got two council members trying to destroy her career, and all she knows is there’s an investigation, she just got a raise, and now she’s on leave,” he said. “Of course she’s looking.”
He also criticized how legal advice and closed sessions are now being handled.
“We never used to come out of closed sessions at a set time. That’s not how it works,” he said. “Now we’re being told we have to wrap up by a certain time so people can deliver sound bites to the media. That’s not good governance. That’s political theater.”
Many closed sessions have been lengthy, including the one in which the investigation and Ferrell-Benavides’ leave were approved. A special meeting is scheduled for Aug. 7, with closed session briefings on litigation, including the investigation, a retiree lawsuit, and potentially PSA-related matters. Jones said he’s unsure who called the meeting but plans to attend.
In the Bulletin story, Ferrell-Benavides also said she reached out to contacts in Petersburg, where she previously served as city manager, to help Jones secure employment after he resigned from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.
At the time, Jones said he was speaking with her about his situation, and she suggested he talk to now-Economic Development Authority Director Eric Payne. At the time, Payne was the city’s attorney designee.
“She said, ‘Let me call him. You can try to talk to him and let him know what you’re dealing with,’” Jones said.
She later mentioned Petersburg Police Chief Travis Christian as a possible contact. According to Jones, he had known Christian through training and community work.
“When she said, ‘Hey LC, you know Travis. I can call Travis, and he’ll give you a job in a minute,’ I was still trying to process what was going on,” Jones said. “I told her, ‘Let him know my situation, I’ll reach out to him, but right now I’m not looking for a job.’”
Jones said while he hasn’t applied for a position in Petersburg, he continues to receive interest from departments across Virginia and North Carolina.
“Really since I resigned from the Martinsville Police Department,” during his campaign to serve on the council “a lot of people have reached out to me,” he said. “They still to this day call me, send me text messages—or even emails—to say, ‘Hey, we got an opportunity available if you’re interested.’”
Vice Mayor Kathy Lawson said if Ferrell-Benavides is hired for the Texas position, “I wish her well.”
