Atlanta voters appear to back water, sewer tax

Atlanta voters in both Fulton and DeKalb counties are headed toward renewing the city’s penny sales tax that has funded water and sewer projects since 2004. Residents were on track to approving the program by a wide margin late Tuesday night.

The Municipal Optional Sales Tax, or MOST, was instituted as part of a consent decree to address a federal lawsuit over water quality violations.

The renewed tax is estimated to collect roughly $1.1 billion over the next four years. It will take effect in October and extend through September 2028.

Since its inception, its also helped avoid a water and sewer rate hike for customers. Failure at the polls would almost certainly mean rate hikes, city officials said.

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