To conform with the city’s charter, the Martinsville City Council approved a resolution to formalize the termination of former City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides at its Tuesday, August 12 meeting.
To meet the requirements under Chapter 5, Section 1 of the charter, the council directed the city attorney to provide Ferrell-Benavides, who has been on administrative leave since July 22, with written notice detailing the specific reasons for her removal.
In accordance with the charter, Ferrell-Benavides will be suspended immediately and relieved of all duties and authorized authority as city manager pending the effective date of her removal. Her termination will be final 60 days from the date of written notice, during which she will continue to be paid by the city.
The motion was approved with a 3-2 vote. Mayor LC Jones and Council Member Rayshaun Gravely were the dissenting votes. The council also reaffirmed Ferrell-Benavides’ contract termination at the meeting.
Before voting, Jones expressed his opposition to the motion.
“Last week we received information, we had about two hours to deliberate on the information and we came out and made a decision. I opposed it then in principle as I’ve said I would rather for this whole investigation to be a state-led investigation, not us investigating ourselves,” he said.
Jones said he believes the council rushed the termination on August 7, when Ferrell-Benavides was already on leave.
“We could have waited, deliberated another week or so on this. We still have the audit out there somewhere, if the end results are going to be the end results, it can be what it was going to be. But because we didn’t wait, we’re now covering our tracks and doubling back to fix the issue that we did last week,” he said.
Council Member Aaron Rawls said the move highlights the need for competent city officials.
“This person did not comply with the parameters she was given, and this person put the city at significant risk. We would have lost millions—let me say that again—millions of dollars to this person’s behavior who said to our own council and others that she would not relent, she would not follow the law, she would not respect the wishes of the body who governs her,” he said.
Noting that the city’s legal counsel gave sound advice, Rawls said no one wanted to rush the attorney or council to a decision.
“The lady acted, and we responded in the best interest. I’m sorry there are people who are connected to her that just can’t let it go, but there’s four of us that served you that night, and I don’t know what to tell you about the other one,” he said.
On Tuesday, Jones said some council members were ready to terminate Ferrell-Benavides even before the information was fully reviewed.
“That tells you a lot about where we were at and where we ended up at,” he said.
Rawls added that those who weren’t ready to act sooner should be ashamed.
Council Member Rayshaun Gravely said he would vote against the motion, despite previously voting to terminate Ferrell-Benavides’ contract.
“This (information) should have been presented when we made that decision last week,” he said.
Vice Mayor Kathy Lawson defended following the charter process, adding the motion was to right a wrong.
“According to the charter this is the process that should be followed, and if that’s what our charter says, then that’s what we should do,” she said.
Council Member Julina Mei said he wants discussions to move on to other subjects.
“I want to talk about roads, taxes, and getting our lives back on track here,” he said.
Ferrell-Benavides’ contract termination initially occurred on Thursday, August 7, in a 4-1 vote. Her employment was ended immediately and for cause, citing acts involving malfeasance and dishonesty, violations of city charter, city code, and city policy, unsatisfactory performance, and other behavior deemed by council to adversely affect public confidence or city integrity. Jones cast the dissenting vote.
The council also authorized its attorney, Sans Anderson, to provide pertinent facts of the investigation to the city’s Commonwealth’s Attorney in a 5-0 vote.
Following the termination, Jones said the council had been briefed on an ongoing investigation during a closed session.
“Based on that it was council’s determination to terminate her employment with the city. It was a 4-1 vote; I chose to object at this particular time because the investigation is still ongoing and we’re waiting for an audit to come back. As I spoke with council members, I reserve my opinion on it” until we receive the audit. “If it does provide credible information that laws or even policies were violated, then I would be in favor of going along with what council has decided,” he said.
Jones expected the council to make the decision it did.
“It was the understanding coming to the floor,” he said.
Jones said Ferrell-Benavides’ job search in Texas during the investigation is understandable.
“There’s a lot even with just this situation and a lot of other situations are going on, so I think she would probably be feeling that her employment was unpredictable either way it goes, and she would already be looking. To me that’s to be expected, and we haven’t been able to communicate with her for about three weeks now, so that’s pretty much to be expected,” he said.
Jones added he believes the last time anyone had any contact with Ferrell-Benavides was when she was put on administrative leave at the July 22 meeting.
Lawson said the decision to terminate Ferrell-Benavides’ contract was extremely difficult.
“This is difficult. I think this is probably one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make,” she said.
Gravely said he based his vote on the information presented at the August 7 meeting.
“So far, I have not seen financial issues that’s been broke. But I will say that for some leadership, some leadership things, I had some questions,” he said.
Rawls said the termination is the culmination of 14 months of challenges.
“It’s been a long fight. It went from being a very lonely battle with essentially just me and some bad council members and some not good members of government. Seeing it through to this point and being able to get a majority vote, even if I know some of those votes weren’t for what’s good of the community but for their own political butt-saving, it’s a step in the right direction,” he said.
However, Rawls said the process has been taxing for the city.
“Unfortunately this is not the end; it is the beginning. There will be another effort to put someone who’s going to be malleable, who doesn’t mind doing favors—quid pro quo—so now I got to fight to prevent that person from getting into the city manager’s office,” he said.
Mei said residents witnessed most of the council acting in the community’s best interest.
“I want us to use this as an example to demonstrate to the city that we put them and the city staff paramount above anything else. I want that to be an example to other people looking from outside and from within,” he said.
Mei noted that the phrasing “multiple incidences relating to cause” in the termination motion means Ferrell-Benavides could be fired without severance.
“As far as I’m concerned … any of those items would have been a reason, and actually there are other items” that could have been listed, he said.
Mei said he last saw Ferrell-Benavides about a month before her termination.
In other matters, the council:
*Heard from Ural Harris regarding the city attorney position, which is advertised on the city’s website.
*Received a plaque from Fayette Area Historical Initiative (FAHI) Executive Director Charisse Hairston acknowledging council sponsorship.
*Approved July 7, July 22, and July 23 meeting minutes.
*Approved on first reading budget appropriations for debt service, school capital projects, and street funds.
*Rescheduled the Sept. 9 council meeting to Tuesday, Sept. 16.
*Approved rezoning ordinance request on second reading for First Presbyterian Church.
*Approved on second reading a request to abandon the right-of-way at 1009 E. Church Street.
*Approved Arts and Cultural Committee request to apply for Harvest PUP Grant.
*Approved sunsetting the Emergency Housing and Community Support Commission.
*Approved five-percent matching fund commitment for Hazard Mitigation Grant application for West Piedmont Planning District Commission Regional Generator Project.
*Approved Piedmont Community Services’ request to purchase 605 Fourth Street.
