By Associated Press
Dothan, AL – A petition signed by more than 63-hundred voters seeks a change in Dothan's city manager form of government. The petition drive led by former Dothan Mayor Kenneth Everett came after passage of a new one-cent city sales tax. The petition represents 42 percent of the 15-thousand Dothan voters who turned out November Seventh for the general election. Dothan Mayor Pat Thomas says the issues of government and the one cent tax have been blurred in Everett's campaign. Thomas initiated the 12 (M) million-dollars-a-year sales tax plan to pay for city improvements, such as a long-term water supply, more money for schools and police, a new senior citizen center and a new park. The tax takes effect in January, making the total sales tax in Dothan nine percent. The petition drive calls for city voters to choose between the current system and a mayor-council form of government, giving executive authority to an elected mayor instead of a city manager.