A former Petersburg city manager whose work path after being here led to a yearlong stint as a Texas city manager before landing in Martinsville, Virginia, is now on leave from that city while she interviews for another Lone Star State municipal job.
The decision to place Aretha Ferrell-Benavides on paid administrative leave came during an evening City Council meeting July 23. That same day, the city of Elgin, Texas, announced that Ferrell-Benavides was one of four finalists for that city’s city manager job and will be interviewed July 30.
Ferrell-Benavides, who was in Petersburg for four years before leaving in 2021, was put on administrative leave in Martinsville following a city-run investigation into reports of fiscal impropriety involving city credit-card use as well as deteriorating relationships with councilors over the past few months. City Councilor Aaron Rawls, who made the motion to put her on leave, is currently suing Ferrell-Benavides and the city after he was forcibly removed from a March meeting for questioning city expenses…