Warren County’s first foray into blocking the purchase of car tags in order to collect garbage-handling fees was so successful that county supervisors on Tuesday fired the company that had been contracted to ensure collections.

Letters have been sent to 81 residential and business accounts for which payment for solid waste disposal services were deemed late as of Dec. 1. Records show payments have rolled in from 17 of them, or 20.9 percent of those notified.

The percentage compares with the 3.97 percent collected since February 2009 by Natchez-based Receivable Solutions Specialists, County Administrator John Smith said. A collected of 3.99 percent in outstanding justice court fines, which the company also handled, also was reported.

Broken out, $18,833.94 out of $474,074.34 in outstanding garbage accounts was collected by the firm. Of $662,214.97 in justice court fines for misdemeanors and traffic offenses, the firm compelled payment of $26,433.39.

Under the new plan, Warren County residents outside the city who owe garbage fees and try to renew a vehicle registration tag are required to contact the Board of Supervisors, Tax Collector Antonia Flaggs Jones said.

The same goes for online renewals via the Mississippi 1-Stop website, where Warren is one of 13 Mississippi counties that allow car tags to be purchased and property taxes to be paid via the Internet. State law allows counties to hold up car tags and add charges to property taxes to recover sanitation-related fees.

“We will have MS1STOP to issue a refund and mail them a letter informing them to contact BOS before renewal will be allowed,” Jones said.

Under Warren County’s waste ordinance, private firms serve all non-city addresses. Waste Management is contracted for about two-thirds of the county’s 10,000 or so active accounts, with the rest divided among four family-run operations.

Monthly fees vary according to the hauler selected by the resident. For each account, a $1.25 monthly surcharge is tacked onto bills, which is turned over to the county for its costs related to enforcement of solid-waste disposal rules required by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Since 2008, about $90,000 has been moved to the fund from other county accounts to cover shortfalls of the tack-on fee.