The process is under way to decrease traffic in Sharon and to increase the amount of money trucking companies hauling oversized loads pay the city.

On Tuesday, council gave first reading to an ordinance that would set the fee schedule at $500 a year per vehicle.

The current fee is $365 a year, Council President Fred Hoffman said.

The majority of heavy loads being hauled through Sharon are from Duferco Farrell Corp. Recently the state passed a law allowing trucks to have a weight limit of 125,000 pounds.

Bob Miller, Duferco's chief financial officer, said the permit for the increased weight limit allows the company to haul only within a 2è-mile radius, so companies from outside the area wouldn't be able to take advantage of the permit.