City chief overspends by nearly $100,000, gets relieved of duties

Topline: Aretha Ferrell-Benavides — the disgraced former city manager of Martinsville, Va. — spent $96,613 on her city credit card without proper approval, according to an independent audit released this April. Several purchases ignored city spending limits on meals and hotels.

The City Manager’s Office also took money from another department to fund Ferrell-Benades’ travel and a pay raise without approval from the city council, according to the audit.

Key facts: Ferrell-Benavides made 307 purchases on her credit card from February 2024 to June 2025. Sixty-eight of them were never reviewed by anyone besides herself, the audit found. The remaining payments were approved by an employee who worked directly for Ferrell-Benavides, not an impartial official.

Several transactions were missing receipts. The auditors were unable to figure out the “business purpose” of 99 purchases.

Others were too expensive. Ferrell-Benavides was only allowed to spend $45 per day on meals, but she spent $1,730 in excess of that over 16 months. She also overspent her hotel budget by $18,409.

To pay the bills, two employees of the City Manager’s Office took $169,180 from the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation, which is meant to create jobs and support small businesses. The cash was transferred without input from any other department.

The transfer also helped fund salaries in the City Manager’s Office. In July 2025, Ferrell-Benvaides got a 15% raise, boosting her pay from $183,500 to $215,000.

The auditors also reviewed 247 purchases from other employees and found it impossible “to conclude whether the transactions tested have a legitimate business purpose.” They concluded that Martinsville’s financial oversight is “inadequate or non-existent.”

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Background: Ferrell-Benavides was fired by the Martinsville City Council last August.

Councilman Julian Mei listed reasons including “commission of an act of malfeasance and dishonesty, violation of city charter, city code, city policy, rule, or regulation, unsatisfactory performance” in a statement to ABC13, but the exact details remain unclear. Her excessive travel spending was one factor, but a council member told ABC13 that a private investigation also uncovered things “you’re not prepared” for.

A special prosecutor and the Virginia State Police are now investigating the city.

Ferrell-Benavides’ attorney called the investigation a “witch hunt” last September and said there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

Summary: It may be too late to recover the money Ferrell-Benavides misspent, but Martinsville must strengthen its fiscal guardrails to prevent a similar fiasco in the future.

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