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exceptions, it establishes that the majority of the property owners in the assessment district must vote in favor of any proposed increase in an assessment for it to be implemented. If an assessment district was formed prior to the passage of Proposition 218 and pursuant to a petition signed by the property owner(s) of all the parcels subject to the assessment, the district is exempt from the requirement that a majority of the property owners must vote each year in favor of the assessment. In Pleasanton, all the existing Landscape Maintenance Districts were formed pursuant to such a petition prior to the passage of Proposition 218. Assessments for the districts must comply with the proposition's requirement that only special benefits, not general benefits, may be assessed when evaluating Lighting and Landscape Maintenance Districts. The definition of a special benefit is "a particular and distinct benefit over and above general benefits conferred on real property located in the 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 are of special benefit to the property owners in each district. 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 ensured. DISCUSSION The City currently has five Landscape Maintenance Districts that are assessed. The net amount of the assessment 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 the Ponderosa-Del Prado, Bonde Ranch, Oak Tree Farm, and Moller Ranch districts do not include the 1.7 percent county administration fee as the Finance Department transfers 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. The costs have been calculated for the eventual replacement of the improvements in each district. Currently, the reserve funds are insufficient to cover these replacement costs due in part to the lack of adjustment in assessment amounts over the life of the districts. Furthermore, irrigation systems have been turned off at Bonde Ranch and Oak Tree Farms and portions of Moller Ranch due to numerous needed repairs. Page 4' of