Atlanta sewer-tax extension OK’d
Next up: the regional transportation tax
- Thomas Wheatley/CL File
- Atlanta has been overhauling its antiquated sewer system with projects such as the South River Tunnel
Atlanta voters yesterday overwhelmingly approved a four-year extension of a 1 percent sales tax to fund the city’s $4 billion sewer overhaul.
More than 85 percent of Atlanta voters supported the measure, which city officials said would help prevent future hikes on water bills and offset some of the project’s cost on tourists and daytime office workers. Maybe the awareness campaign posters, which Mayor Kasim Reed’s inaugural committee helped fund, did the trick?
Next up: the regional transportation tax. If voters in July approve that measure, which is expected to generate more than $6 billion for regional road and transit projects, Atlantans will pay a 9 percent sales tax. Think they’ve got the stomach for it?