In fact, benefit assessment districts cannot be established unless an engineering report can identify, and provide a method to calculate, the special benefits. A general property tax need not satisfy this requirement. In addition, assessment law requires that property owners be given notice and provided with a public hearing before an assessment district can be formed. Again, this is not required of taxes. Finally, the protest procedure common to assessments allows property owners the opportunity to block imposition of the assessment.
Fees are similar to assessments in that they generally bear a relationship to benefit received.
However, fees are voluntary charges to individuals, who are electing to pursue the services or privileges to which the fee entitles them. On the other hand, assessments are compulsory charges to land owners. Trends in the use of benefit assessment districts in California Benefit assessment districts were a well established funding mechanism well before California became a state. Traced back to the middle ages in Europe, benefit assessment districts debuted in North America in 1691 with a New York City assessment to fund street drainage and pavement. By the 1850's benefit assessments had essentially evolved into their current form, with standard provisions for notice hearing and protest, and spread throughout the country.