Tax revenue past due to Warren County on business inventory — everything from furniture to computers — is on the rise again after earlier strides to persuade businesses to pay, officials said this week.

Figures from the Tax Collector’s Office, which receives the payments, show more than $1.6 million owed for tax years 2011-13. The biggest debtors are out of business, such as the former Horizon Casino, singled out for a $271,000 bill for 2013. Ninety-five parcels are on the 2013 list.

Two months removed from scraping together enough money to fund pay raises for county employees, supervisors say they’ll seek every penny possible.

“We’ve been talking about this since 1990-something,” Board President Bill Lauderdale said. “It’s ridiculous. We’ve gotten attorneys and other stuff (on the list).”

In Mississippi, property may be seized and the doors to a business locked by the sheriff if taxes aren’t paid in a timely manner and authorities believe a debtor will flee without paying taxes on inventory, referred to as personal property. A distress warrant is issued beforehand.

Supervisors have invited Sheriff Martin Pace to address them on efforts to issue warrants.

Fifteen warrants have been turned over to the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, Tax Collector Antonia Flaggs Jones said. Pace can’t remember closing any businesses in recent years and most proprietors in business settle up what they owe.

“The tax collector issues the warrant and we serve them,” Pace said. “A lot of time we find the property owner has gone out of business.”

The statute harkens to the English origins of American law and to the time in Mississippi when sheriff and tax collector was one job. The more commonly used statute, which is also being used, involves auctioning real property on which taxes are delinquent for the amount owed. That is also a three-year process and owners can redeem their titles at any time by paying amounts due plus accumulated interest.

Jones said more visits from deputies would put a dent in delinquencies.

“No one wants to seize any property,” Jones said. “But, I guarantee you, as small as this list is, if the sheriff’s office showed up at one beauty parlor, for example, and somebody’s sitting there getting their hair done, then you’re talking about locking up to take equipment? It’s going to spread like wildfire. All the businesses will fall in line.”