PAXTON — A stricter ordinance regulating commercial garbage haulers is being proposed by the Ford County Board's environmental committee to help identify haulers from outside the county that are violating the county's existing ordinance.

Assistant State's Attorney Meredith Fahrner was instructed by the committee last Wednesday to draft the revised ordinance for approval at the board's Dec. 12 meeting.

Among the changes proposed, the committee decided to require commercial waste-hauling companies using Ford County's roads to have proper identification posted on all of their trucks and Dumpsters; require the companies to start providing employer identification and tax identification numbers on their applications for a license; specify the process for revoking licenses; and set increased administrative penalties for violating the ordinance.

The committee also decided to increase the licensing fee for commercial waste haulers, from $50 to $200, to make the fee more in line with fees other area counties and cities charge.