Final council vote officially puts Wright in charge of jail

Spartanburg County Council gave final approval on Saturday to an ordinance giving leadership at the jail to Sheriff Chuck Wright.

The six council members at the meeting voted unanimously for the change. Council Chairman Jeff Horton was out of town.

As soon as the ordinance passed, Wright started working by announcing several promotions on his staff. The officers promoted will have additional responsibilities at the jail.

"We will restructure a little bit, but the day-to-day operations are pretty good," Wright said. "We are going to make some tweaks here and there."

Wright, who was elected in 2005, replaces longtime jail director Larry Powers. As part of the restructuring, Wright has named Powers the new court liaison.

"He (Powers) is very well organized with paperwork and will be good in the job," Wright said. "He has given 39 years to the county and knows what needs to be done."

Council began discussing a change in management at the jail last month while working on the budget for the upcoming year. Council members were concerned about overtime costs resulting from having too many vacant staff positions.

The issue had plagued the jail for several years, and council wanted to take steps to cut down on the overtime costs.

After Saturday's meeting, Councilman David Britt said Wright has already received 250 inquiries about vacant positions at the jail.

"That speaks volumes for Chuck to get that much interest," Britt said. "People all over Spartanburg and the Upstate know the sheriff. He has a great team and done an incredible job creating a team atmosphere."