DAPHNE, Ala. — At least 78 lots within the corporate limits of Daphne have not had property taxes properly assessed in recent years, and even those property owners who only recently purchased the properties must pay the two years’ of back taxes owed by the close of 2010.

Baldwin County Revenue Commissioner Teddy Faust presented these figures to the Daphne City Council during Monday’s regular meeting, noting it is unclear how many properties will ultimately be affected.

To date, revenue office staffers have discovered 34 lots in Daphne’s Canterbury Place subdivision have never paid the city’s 1 mil tax. This revelation comes within a year of a similar discovery affecting 44 lots in the city’s TimberCreek subdivision.

It was not immediately clear how much revenue the city stands to collect from the overlooked municipal tax collections.

Although the exact cause of the error has not yet been determined, Faust told council members that it appears to be an issue of unprecedented growth and accompanying annexations compounded by mapping errors. He also said Daphne is by no means the only city affected by the miscalculations that in some instances date back almost a decade.

“We started uncovering some pretty ugly stuff,” Faust said.

What began as an isolated investigation of Daphne’s TimberCreek subdivision before Faust took office in October has expanded into a countywide audit that has to date uncovered irregularities with property tax collections in Bay Minette, Loxley and Robertsdale. So far, about 140 residents countywide have been notified by letter of the owed taxes, but Faust said more letters should be expected before the investigation is complete.

“We’re doing this—asking to speak with you as a council—because we want the public to be aware of what’s going on. We want to be very transparent and visible and just get it right, basically,” Faust said.

The “unfortunate” part, he said, is that “the tax goes with the land,” meaning that in some instances people who only recently purchased affected property will be responsible for paying the back taxes. Legally, Faust said their only recourse in the matter is to contact the previous owners and request they do the right thing, but the suggestion drew only chuckles from the sizeable crowd.

District 6 Councilman Derek Boulware said it was his understanding Faust’s office could assess up to two years’ of back taxes even on new owners, and Faust said the law actually allows five years, but two is what’s being discussed at the moment.

District 1 Councilman Bailey Yelding asked what process is being used now to ensure the errors don’t occur again, and Faust said although mapping software is being used there are “no guarantees” similar problems won’t resurface with more than 160,000 parcels to assess countywide.

Faust did, however, agree to attend a meeting of Canterbury Place property owners to be hosted by Boulware and answer any lingering questions those affected might have.

In other business the council: