The biggest tax question on local Super Tuesday ballots was whether Atlanta would renew a one percent penny sales tax for improved water and sewer management. Mayor Kasim Reed has said that the municipal option sales tax (MOST) helps keep water bills lower in Atlanta, and helps spread some of the costs along to people who visit or work in Atlanta but don't pay water bills. Reed has also said that the MOST is important because Atlanta does not receive state funds to help comply with a federal consent decree. Here's a report on the MOST approval from WABE:
Atlantans Overwhelmingly Approve Sewer System Tax Renewal
City of Atlanta voters have overwhelmingly approved a four-year extension of a one-cent sales tax for water and sewer system improvements.
That Municipal Options Sales Tax, or "MOST," is helping to pay for a federally-mandated $4 billion upgrade.
On WABE's "Closer Look," Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said, "If we had failed to reauthorize the MOST, water rates would have gone up by about 30 percent. And we already have some of the highest rates in the country because we have not gotten help financially on our $4 billion capital program."
More than 70 percent of Atlanta voters approved extending the tax.
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