Per his request for me to do so in his June 11th letter to the editor, I’ll address Mr. Mitchell’s concerns and accusations.
The city has lost a large amount of money, our annual audit has been delayed at least 6 months because of questionable expenditures, and the proposed 2026-27 budget is one of the most challenging in years in part because of gross financial mismanagement of the former city manager and council led by Mayor LC Jones, who allowed contributing circumstances to be created and persist. Prior year revenues were overestimated by approximately $1M and anticipated expenses were underestimated by $4M. City taxpayers paid hundreds of thousands for a forensic audit (based only on a sample of transactions yet contained alarming results), a workplace investigation, and then $40K in legal fees because of a deficiency in the registrar’s office, currently being addressed through the State Board of Elections. I’m surprised that, having served on council, Mr. Mitchell doesn’t realize that the city has municipal liability insurance to cover that $40K expense. Time and time again Martinsville residents have paid a high price for the misdeeds of those we pay to represent us.
After council failed to respond to concerns or release the results of a taxpayer funded investigation, citizens were forced to try to resolve the problem through the judicial petition process, a legal act of civic engagement and citizens’ right to due process. Contrary to Mr. Mitchell’s suggestion, there was never a perception or expectation of any special favor from the court: we were simply seeking a judicial review of a concealed taxpayer funded investigation to inform our voting decisions prior to an upcoming election. If there were bad actors on council we didn’t want them re-elected. Since April 2025, Mayor Jones repeatedly attempted to stop, derail, and interfere with the release of the information we sought through the petition process, including threatening citizens who signed the recall petition with perjury. He has maintained a pattern of interference, threats, and intimidation to avoid accountability for himself and others. Now Mayor Jones has joined the former city manager in suing the city’s legal counsel. Additionally, the attorney who filed the suits for Mayor Jones and the former city manager filed a $25M federal civil rights lawsuit against the Henry County Sheriff’s office on June 5th.
Although the results of the concealed investigation were not revealed through the petition process, citizens are now depending on the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation for transparency and accountability. If someone committed a criminal act, they should be prosecuted whether they’re an elected official or not. I encourage Martinsville citizens to reach out to your elected officials – Del. Eric Phillips, Sen. Bill Stanley, Rep. Morgan Griffith, as well as the attorney general and the Virginia State Police. Martinsville taxpayers have been fleeced enough – it’s time to ask our representatives for help to expedite the state police investigation currently underway.
Patti Covington,
Martinsville
