At least another week of legal review will elapse before garbage pickup in Warren County goes competitive, a process likely to result in a single hauler for all addresses outside Vicksburg, officials said.

Despite strong talk last week about putting the process on a fast track by this week, the board put the matter on next week’s informal meeting agenda to examine its garbage collection and disposal ordinances, passed between 1992 and 1994.

In April, the board gave Billy Drake, operator of one of three family-run garbage haulers in nonmunicipal Warren County, 90 days to turn over a list of current customers or lose his permit. Though the motion was tailored only to Drake, District 5 Supervisor Richard George, in whose district Drake did most of his business, said after the board met Monday the directive now applies to all three small haulers and the 90 days isn’t up yet.

Public perception that the board is being too heavy-handed on the issue is a concern, George said, prompting the board to pause the issue another week. During Monday’s session, Board President Bill Lauderdale told an official with Waste Pro of Mississippi, seated in a back bench in the public seating area, the issue would come up next Monday. The Jackson-based company is one of three corporate haulers permitted to pick up garbage in the county.

“We’ll probably make a decision after we make that discussion over there how we’ll handle things,” Lauderdale said.

About 6,500 people in non-municipal Warren County have garbage disposed of by legal means or picked up regularly by five permitted haulers. Waste Management has about 4,800 customers in the county and holds the contract to pick up garbage inside Vicksburg city limits. The other permitted companies are Waste Pro and Earth Friends Environmental Services. Another 1,002 report legal disposal of their garbage, most commonly by taking it to a commercial receptacle with permission from the owner, according to totals from the end of 2011.

A $1.25 surcharge is tacked onto residential and commercial bills and funds the county’s environmental office, which in turn keeps the county compliant with disposal mandates from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Drake turned in a list of customers a few days after the ultimatum. John Hatchett, who’d hauled garbage for nearly 30 years, retired in April and advised about 175 customers to contract with Waste Management. A third, Oscar Mayfield, owes the county $881.25 in surcharge fees, including a bill to be sent by today, said environmental clerk Katie Stanford.