It did not take long for controversy to deepen surrounding Martinsville City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides. One day after a split 3-2 vote raised her salary from $175,000 to $215,000 per year, the Council voted to place Ferrell-Benavides on administrative leave.

That same day, Elgin, TX, announced that Ferrell-Benavides was a finalist for their city manager position.

Julian Mei and Aaron Rawls provided the two opposing votes to the salary increase. (RELATED: Virginia Councilman Set on Fire in Shocking Office Attack)

Rawls has been vocal about his opposition to pay raises for city officials and was removed from a Council meeting by law enforcement in March for speaking in opposition. Rawls is suing both the deputy sheriff and Ferrell-Benavides and the deputy admitted that Ferrell-Benavides surreptitiously motioned to have Rawls removed from the chamber.

Among the objections Rawls voiced, the council removed a $10,000 vehicle stipend from Ferrell-Benavides compensation, but gave her access to a city car, something Rawls said was deceptive.

The audit request comes after months of questions surround credit card statement and travel expenses including $2,000 golf outings were billed to the city. The city has allocated $20,000 to the expense of the forensic audit.

Martinsville has a population of only 13,765 people with a median household income of just over $42,000 per year. The salary increase is $40,000 per year. (RELATED: HD22: Purple Delegate Ian Lovejoy Faces Deep Blue Elizabeth Guzman)

Ferrell-Benavides was fired from her previous job as city manager Duncanville, TX. She claims the firing was because she raised concerns over contradictory bookkeeping records. Duncanville cited a loss of confidence in her leadership but would not comment further citing personnel matters.