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district or to the public at large." General enhancement of property value does not constitute a "special benefit". To the extent an assessment provides both general benefits and special benefits, the City must separate the general benefits from the special benefits and the City is to pay for the general benefits out of another revenue source, typically the City's General Fund. Since the passage of Proposition 218, the City has evaluated this distinction between special and general benefits and determined that the landscaping and other improvements being maintained under each district is of special benefit to the property owners comprising each district. The City will evaluate these assessments based on the latest legal decisions regarding assessments for Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Districts as part of the analysis planned for this fiscal year. The Landscaping and Lighting assessment process, once assessments are updated to meet current maintenance requirements, will provide an efficient and effective means for maintenance to be assured. DISCUSSION The City currently has five Landscape and Lighting Maintenance Districts which are being assessed. When the properties within the districts are assessed, the net amount is included on the properties' county property tax bill. At that time, the County adds 1.7 percent to the base assessment as an administration fee. The assessments on the City-owned parcels located within Ponderosa-Del Prado, Bonde Ranch, Oak Tree Farm, and Moller Ranch Districts will not include the 1.7 percent county administration fee as the Finance Department will transfer the money from the General Fund into the specific district fund without involving the County. The Engineer's budget for each district should include a reserve fund to provide for the replacement of capital improvements such as planting, irrigation, decorative entry walls, signage, light fixtures, etc. Replacement costs should be calculated for the eventual replacement of the improvements of each district. Currently, the reserve funds are insufficient to cover these replacement costs due in part to the lack of adjustment of assessment amounts for over 20 years. This must be addressed and is further discussed later in this report. Landscape and Lighting Maintenance District 1984-1, Ponderosa-Del Prado The Ponderosa Homes subdivision (District 1984-1) has been in place for 35 years. Maintenance in this District includes the care of masonry walls, trees, shrubbery, groundcover and irrigation systems along Paseo Santa Cruz between Corte Santa Maria and Corte Pacifica. The overall assessments for the coming year for District 1984-1 (Ponderosa-Del Prado) will remain unchanged at $16.90 for each privately-owned parcel, and $16.62 for the one City-owned parcel. With a total of 344 units, including the City-owned parcel, this amounts to $5,813 in total assessments. This amount provides enough funding for the maintenance and plant replacement costs in all the special district areas along Paseo Santa Cruz, including water and electrical costs, county administration fees, and city administration fees. However, this amount does not provide adequate funding to cover Page 4 of 8