By Staff Reports
Martinsville officials have invoked a seven-day extension to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by attorneys representing former City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides.
The request, filed by attorney Verbena Askew on Oct. 3, sought access to records related to the ongoing forensic audit and other documents connected to Ferrell-Benavides’ tenure. In an Oct. 10 response, the city cited the need for legal review and possible redactions as the reason for the delay.
“It is not practicably possible to provide the requested records within the initial five-working-day period due to the need for legal counsel to review the responsive records and to redact any information that may be exempt from disclosure under the Act,” the letter stated. “You will receive a final response to your request no later than October 21, 2025.”
In an email, Paul Goldman, a member of Ferrell-Benavides’ legal team, alleged City Council member Aaron Rawls has repeatedly discussed aspects of the forensic audit report with the media despite its confidential nature.
“As members of the press know, Council member Rawls has repeatedly commented to the media, in news articles unrelated to any council session, about what he claims to be the contents of this report,” Goldman wrote. “Indeed, he leaked a confidential letter” sent to Sands Anderson and a reporter, “and discussed the contents of the report.”
Goldman added that neither the council nor the city’s outside legal counsel has publicly objected to Rawls’ disclosures.
“Surely common decency, if not the FOIA law, requires giving Ms. Askew the unredacted report at this point,” Goldman wrote. “Such dissemination seems in clear violation of the employment contract for starters, among other things.”
