Martinsville Sells Surplus Police Computer to Chief for $1

City Council | August 26, 2026

Article Summary: The Martinsville City Council voted unanimously on Aug. 26, 2026, to sell an old Police Department desktop computer to Police Chief Slater for $1. The published agenda had listed the sale price as $100.

Surplus Computer Sale Key Points:

The approved motion sold “the old desktop computer from the Police Dept to Chief Slater for $1.”

The agenda for the same meeting listed the item at $100, a discrepancy the minutes do not address.

The vote was 6-0, on a motion by Alderman Chris Davidson, seconded by Alderman Harley Craig.

MARTINSVILLE — The Martinsville City Council on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, agreed to sell a retired Police Department desktop computer to the city’s police chief for a dollar — a price that is one-hundredth of what the published agenda said the council would consider.

The motion, made by Alderman Chris Davidson and seconded by Alderman Harley Craig, was “to sell the old desktop computer from the Police Dept to Chief Slater for $1.” The roll call recorded yes votes from Davidson, Alderman Chris Perry, Craig, Alderman Wendy Isbell, Alderman Travis Hill and Alderman Ashley Wilhoit, and the motion carried 6-0.

Item 5 on the agenda distributed for the same meeting reads: “Consideration and Action to sell old desktop computer from Police Dept. to Chief Slater for $100.”

Under standard practice, the minutes are the official record of what the council actually voted on, and this report uses the $1 figure the minutes record. But the minutes contain no note of an amendment, no discussion, and nothing explaining the gap between the noticed price and the approved one. The $99 difference is small in dollar terms; the question of whether the council voted on the item as advertised is not.

The record provides no further detail on the transaction: the computer’s age, make, condition, whether city data was removed from it, and whether the city has a written surplus property policy are all unaddressed. The chief is identified in both documents only by surname, with no first name recorded.

The minutes and agenda are the only materials available for this meeting, and no staff memo or surplus property declaration accompanied the item. Confirming the approved sale price with the city clerk’s office is the first follow-up this story requires.