Rusty Gray, who on Tuesday was named warden of the Carroll County Prison by county commission Chairman Bill Chappell, said he has no intentions of stepping down as a member of the Carrollton City Council.

Gray said he believes his personal integrity negates any alleged conflict of interest that may present itself as he works jointly as a city and county official.

“It’s not a conflict of interest as far as I’m concerned,” Gray said. “I’ve always had a good relationship with the county, and that’s not going to change. [Chappell] knows I’m going to disagree with him if I think I’m right and he’s wrong. But he is still my immediate supervisor.”

Gray replaces former longtime warden Tom Burgess, who was fired last week for reasons that have not been disclosed. Chappell has continually declined to talk about Burgess’ dismissal. Burgess has not returned several phone calls from the Times-Georgian and is bound to secrecy by a severance agreement he signed. Should Burgess speak out about his dismissal, he would forfeit the $33,150 guaranteed to him by the severance package.

Gray has been active this week trying to acquaint himself with a position he has never held, though he has worked in the prison system.

From early 1996 to June of 2002, Gray served as the program manager over substance abuse and mental health services for the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles. While there, he monitored parolee substance-abuse treatment-contract compliance with the Department of Human Resources and made corresponding recommendations to health-care providers. He served as the liaison for parole releases from various prisons in Georgia and, by doing so, worked in several different prisons, ranging from minimum security to maximum security.

Following his time with the state parole board, Gray worked as the state director for Spectrum Health Systems Inc., where he was in charge of coordinating the delivery of health services to correctional sites across the state. During that time, he worked with the liaisons for the Georgia Department of Corrections and the State Board of Paroles to ensure inmates received proper care.

He has also worked as a psychotherapist in Carrollton since May of 1994, helping men and women of all ages deal with psychological issues and alcohol and drug problems.

His previous work in the field of health care has led Gray to champion rehabilitation over incarceration, though because inmates perform daily eight-hour shifts working outside the prison walls, it’s difficult to provide concentrated treatment, he said.

“Some of these guys cannot be rehabilitated but I do feel like with a lot of these guys that you can make a change in their life,” he said. “At the same time, it being a county work farm, you are obligated that these guys go out, so you have less time with them than you would if they weren’t allowed to leave.”

Gray’s brother-in-law, Carrollton Mayor Wayne Garner, is a former commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections.

According to Chappell, the primary functions of the prison warden are to ensure public safety and to provide inmate labor to the county government, with the latter being measured in cash. The county pays $3.3 million annually to fund the prison, with $1.6 million of that coming from the state, and “it is imperative the county get commiserate work to make it worthwhile to have a work camp here,” Chappell said.

Chappell said there is no question that Gray is the man for the job.

“He is imminently qualified, and he is the one that can accomplish what I want,” Chappell said. “And that is to make the Carroll County work camp the best work camp in the state of Georgia.”