Those owing past bills for residential garbage service in Warren County or fines to justice court should expect to hear from a collections firm in weeks.

Receivable Solutions Specialists Inc., a Natchez company, has been hired by supervisors.

The company’s proposal was chosen over competing offers from firms in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“It was a combination of their abilities to perform and proximity to our clientele, so to speak,” said District 5 Supervisor Richard George, board president.

Penalties proposed by the in-state company were also higher than the two competitors, with fees totaling 25 percent above a current balance for those found inside Mississippi and 50 percent for those living out-of-state. Collections firms normally are paid by being allowed to keep a share of money they obtain from debtors.

A contract with the company should be completed by the next formal board meeting on Jan. 20, County Administrator John Smith said. Accounts deemed delinquent in Warren County’s database of residential and commercial garbage customers total 1,262, according to recent counts by the county’s Environmental Office.

In November, letters were sent to about 850 clients in the county’s system of tracking compliance with state-mandated rubbish disposal laws. Though given 10 days, else risk being bumped to the list of accounts to turn over to collectors, only 110 have responded, officials said.

In nonmunicipal Warren County, individuals must contract with a garbage hauler for sanitation services. Of the six permitted haulers, three are private and three are corporate.

Mounting nonpayments have forced the transfer of more than $58,000 from the general fund to the garbage fund — set aside to collect the $1.25 surcharge added to garbage bills — to cover shortfalls. Most often cited by officials as the cause of the imbalance are residents who move without notifying the county or their chosen garbage service.

The push to hire a collection agency began when gaps left by customers who had moved without notifying their garbage hauler or the county outpaced collections by more than 2-to-1.

Outstanding fines built up over the past several years in justice court have totaled $3 million, officials have estimated. Methods other than hiring outside services exist and have been discussed, such as allowing constables to collect fines and receive 25 percent of the amount received. No alternative plan had enough board support to pass.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com.