MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Newly released details from a forensic audit of Martinsville’s finances shed light on spending practices under former City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides, including a $100,000 transfer from the city’s Economic Development Authority’s budget to the city manager’s salary budget. Multiple city officials tell 10 News this was used for Ferrell-Benavides’ salary increase and travel expenses.
“When they went to give her the pay increase, her budget did not have enough money. So, she had to go steal money from some other department. Which was economic development, which was one of our prioritized departments, and moved it to her budget to help cover her raise and her travel expenses,” Councilman Aaron Rawls said.
Rawls was the first council member to raise concerns about Ferrell-Benavides’ spending, including charges on city-issued credit cards. The audit highlights thousands of dollars in expenses at hotels in Pittsburgh, Las Vegas and Washington D.C.
A review of the credit card records shows other transactions without supporting documentation on purchases like Ubers, Amazon and Topgolf.
City policy allows reimbursement for business-related travel, meals and incendiary expenses but requires documentation proving expenses were for official use and within reasonable limits. According to the audit, many of the charges lacked proper documentation or exceeded spending limits, in some cases by thousands of dollars.
“Some people say, ‘Ah, this is a drop in the bucket,’” City Councilman Julian Mei said. “I think a dollar unaccounted for is kind of a big deal.”
Rawls said concerns about financial practices were raised previously.
“It was noticed,” Rawls said. “Do you remember me raising the issue about, ‘Hey, there’s this illegal meeting you guys just did, and you gave someone a $35,000 pay increase?’”
City leaders say rebuilding public trust will depend on transparency.
“You can’t restore that transparency and that confidence until you release what actually was found and what you’re doing about it,” City Councilman Gene Teague said.
The audit notes that while it could not verify the purpose of many transactions, a lack of documentation does not necessarily indicate fraud. No criminal charges have been filed in the matter, but a criminal investigation into the matter is ongoing, and a separate workplace investigation is expected to be released at a later date.