Special Assessments -- Florida’s “Local Government Financial Information Handbook” explains the ground-rules applicable to special assessments as follows: "Special assessments and taxes are distinguishable because no requirement exists that taxes provide a special benefit to property.  Taxes are levied for the general benefits of residents and property.  But as established in Florida case law, two requirements exist for the imposition of a valid special assessment:

     (1)  The property assessed must derive a special benefit from the improvement or service provided, and,

     (2)  The assessment must be fairly and reasonably apportioned among the properties that receive the special benefit."

Those rules derive, inter alia, from a 2000 ruling by the 4^th District Appeals Court, confirmed in 2002 by Florida’s Supreme Court.  That ruling holds, in part, "Section 170.201 [Florida Statutes, authorizing special assessments to fund municipal services] may not be properly applied to salvage the assessment for EMS in this case [City of N. Lauderdale v. S.M.M. Properties, Inc.] because without a showing of special benefit to property, the assessment amounts to an improper tax", and "any apportionment methodology utilized by the City to calculate an assessment for such services [i.e., those which do not show a special benefit to property] would be improper."