If you saw people walking around the Perry Fourth of July celebration carrying clipboards, odds are they approached you to sign the local option sales tax petition.

The City of Perry used the event as a way to increase the amount of signatures on the countywide petition to put a measure on ballots for the November election to continue local option sales taxes in several cities. In order to do so, the petition needs 2,000 signatures from eligible voters in the county. Prior to Tuesday’s push, there were just over 1,000 signatures on the petition. The number is now around 1,300.

City officials emphasize the local option sales tax is not a new tax in any of the communities involved, rather it is the continuation of a tax already in place. Funds from the tax go towards various city purchases and projects, such as emergency vehicles. For anyone who hasn’t signed the petition, they can do so at Ben’s Five and Dime, the Perry Public Library, the McCreary Center, or City Hall.