Atlanta Voters Approve 1-Cent Sales Tax | Georgia

(The Center Square) — Atlanta voters this week approved a 1-cent sales tax on most goods purchased and services rendered in the city.

Proceeds from the municipal option sales tax, which are capped at $1.1 billion, will help pay for two decades-old federal consent decrees facing Atlanta. The Combined Sewer Overflow Consent Decree and Sanitary Sewer Overflow Consent Decree issued in 1998 and 1999 require the city to make water and sewer improvements, which city officials say , will cost $4 billion.

Atlanta voters first approved MOST on July 20, 2004, and have renewed it every four years since its initial passage. According to municipal authorities, since October 2004, generated more than $1.8 billion.

About three-quarters of Atlanta voters in DeKalb and Fulton counties voted in favor of the tax. Without it, city officials say they would have to raise water and sewer rates by 25 percent.

“Thank you Atlanta for your overwhelming support of the Municipal Option Sales Tax (MOST) on this week’s ballot,” Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement. “This one-cent sales tax, which is shared by residents and visitors, allows us to continue improving our city’s water and sewer infrastructure without increasing the price of services, which significantly affects disproportionately affects our most vulnerable communities.

College Park voters also approved a four-year, 1-cent extension of its MOST, which will raise up to $50 million for water and sewer projects. Fulton County election numbers show nearly 67.3 percent of voters voted in favor of the tax.