After months of waiting and calls from residents, the Martinsville City Council released the workplace investigation of former City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides on July 1.
The council voted to terminate Ferrell-Benavides’ for cause on August 7 with a 4-1 vote. Mayor LC Jones was the sole dissenting vote.
The council then approved a resolution to formalize Ferrell-Benavides’ termination to ensure it followed City Charter procedures with a 3-2 vote. Jones and Council member Rayshaun Gravely voted against the resolution.
The workplace investigation summary states that the city chose not to include facts that are subject to attorney client privilege or certain constitutional protections and that the summary of supporting facts are verifiable through city records, financial documents, and other non-privileged sources.
The summary states multiple subordinates lived with Ferrell-Benavides during her tenure, which she acknowledged in an interview with the Martinsville Bulletin.
“Ms. Ferrell-Benavides purchased a brand new hot tub for Mayor LC Jones and his girlfriend in the months before Mayor Jones voted for a substantial pay raise for Ms. Ferrell-Benavides. She also paid for expensive restaurant outings for Councilmembers and staff,” the summary alleges.
The summary noted that Martinsville nearly lost $4.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds due to compliance failures.
“Required filings for September 30, 2024, and December 31, 2024, were past due as of March 17, 2025, with the Treasury Department portal scheduled to close in two weeks. The reports were filed within 24 hours only after intervention by Congressman Morgan Griffith’s office,” the summary states.
The workplace investigation summary also alleged the former city manager “engaged in a pattern of hiring employees with little or no vetting, failing to conduct background checks, and failing to maintain standard new-hire documentation in personnel files.”
Fiscal Irregularities
The summary notes that Martinsville’s financial records document significant fiscal irregularities during Ferrell-Benavides’ tenure as city manager.
“Ms. Ferrell-Benavides authorized the transfer of nearly $170,000 from the Economic Development budget into the City Manager’s budget, which Council had originally appropriated at $571,677 for FY2025. A $10 million FY24 budget appropriation was posted by the Chief Operating Officer (COO) in late January 2025 before Council approved it,” the summary states.
The summary also states budget amendments were entered into the accounting system by staff in Ferrell-Benavides’ office without council’s prior approval and without the public hearing required by Virginia law for amendments exceeding one percent of the city budget.
“Ms. Ferrell-Benavides failed to turn in thousands of dollars in missing receipts for purchase card charges” and her “purchase card spending lacked meaningful independent oversight; transactions were reviewed only by herself or by her direct subordinates, contrary to City policy requiring independent review,” the workplace investigation summary alleged.
According to allegations in the summary, Ferrell-Benavides repeatedly violated Martinsville’s travel policy, which places applicable U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) rates, or daily limits of $45, for meals and incidentals.
“Additional purchase card irregularities included a $200 charge by a subordinate at a high-end clothing retailer on the subordinate’s City purchase card with no record of disciplinary action, and a $233.80 purchase by that same subordinate at a chocolate shop in December 2024 using Ms. Ferrell-Benavides’s card,” the summary states.
Retaliation Against City Employees
The workplace investigation summary states a city employee raised a legitimate concern about financial mismanagement through official channels, and wrote a memorandum to Ferrell-Benavides and her COO on March 13, 2025 detailing “several deficiencies within the operational structure of internal controls and lack of adequate oversight by management.”
“On April 13, 2025, the employee emailed the City Attorney a six-page memorandum detailing financial mismanagement. Ms. Ferrell-Benavides thereafter began openly undermining the employee to various City employees and officials,” the summary alleges.
