Section 25 of the 1856 city charter provided for the annual election by the Common Council of twelve individuals who, together with the Mayor, were to serve as a Board of Assessors for New Orleans. Prior to this time the city appears either to have relied on the assessments made by the assessors of state taxes or to have appointed individuals to assess property for city tax purposes. No organized Board, however, functioned in the earlier period.

Each assessor was assigned to a separate assessment district, the boundaries of which were drawn by the Common Council. The Board was to organize itself, choose a president and secretary, hold meetings as needed, and keep a minute book of the proceedings of those meetings. The provisions of the charter relative to assessments were quite detailed but the Board was also to adopt rules "best calculated to produce equality and uniformity in the different valuations of property, and assessments in the several districts."

Following the completion of each district's assessment rolls the Board met to equalize them as necessary. The rolls were then opened for inspection for thirty days, after which the Board again met to review protests or requests for changes made by individual property owners. Once the rolls have been equalized and adjusted they were certified as correct by the Board and delivered to the Board of Supervisors of Assessments. Following additional adjustments by this Board, if needed, the rolls were delivered to the Comptroller for the preparation of tax bills.

Act 77 of the 1880 Louisiana legislature fixed the number of assessors at seven, one for each municipal district, and made them appointees of the Governor. Article 309 of the 1898 state constitution made the office of assessor elective and it remains so today. The mechanics of the assessment process have also changed since 1856. Some details will be found in the appendix to this description, but a close examination of the relevant Louisiana statutes and New Orleans municipal ordinances will be needed in order to understand the system fully.