Residents of Stone Bluff of Aledo say they found it strange that they weren't seeing Aledo on their tax bills in the past years.

The Parker County Appraisal District told them not to worry.

"Questions to tax authorities as to whether the Aledo tax was included in our tax bill always came back 'Yes,'" said Steven Tomhave, a Stone Bluff resident of about seven years. "They said it was included within the confines of the Parker County tax."

But those city taxes were never billed, and for the first time in the seven years he has lived in the subdivision, he will owe an estimate of more than $1,000 according to his appraisal notice.

Tomhave's property is among 105 properties in Stone Bluff, Fairview, Parker Station subdivisions and miscellaneous areas that have been omitted in Aledo's tax rolls. Property owners of these properties many now face back taxes for preceding five years -- the maximum number of years back taxes can legally be assessed.

"It's an expense that we have not planned for," Tomhave said. "It's a fairly large chunk of change to say the least."

The back taxes will be assessed based on the prior years' respective rates and property values, city officials told their residents July 17 at the regular City Council meeting.

Director of Finances Scott Holoway said he estimates the city will receive $233,000 in back taxes.

If the tax bill is mailed to the residents after Aug. 3, they will have until the second Feb. 1 before the taxes become delinquent. For example, if the bill is mailed Aug. 30, then unpaid taxes would become delinquent Feb. 2, 2010.

Stone Bluff and Fairview were annexed in 1996 and Parker Station was annexed in 1978 but were not identified as being a part of the city because of a coding error, the city told its residents Thursday at their regular meeting. Homeowners of the subdivision were never billed city taxes.

Aledo is the second city in the county that is facing consequences because of annexation ordinances getting lost years earlier.

The stamp on the 1996 annexation ordinance indicates that the document was filed with the county clerk in November 1996. Aledo's Mayor Kit Marshall said the city have not been able to place the proof of the 1978 annexation ordinance being filed, but that a 1981 county map showed Parker Station as being a part of the city.

Holoway said the city has yet to look into why the 12 properties unincorporated with the annexation were missing from the city's tax roll, because it had been focusing on the subdivisions, which will cause a larger impact on the city. He said an estimated amount of back taxes the city will receive from the 12 properties is $3,200 -- a little more than 1 percent of the total back taxes.

County records show that Willow Park's annexation ordinance was not filed with the clerk until April of this year -- more than four years after the 2003 annexation.

Chief Appraiser Larry Hammonds said Aledo should have filed its annexation ordinance with his office in addition to the county clerk, citing Texas Property Tax Code 6.07, which reads that a taxing unit -- in this case the city -- must notify the appraisal office of boundary changes.

The state local government law in 41.005 reads that city shall send the county clerk documents showing boundary changes. It goes on to state that the county must correct any official county map that would be affected by the changes.

County Clerk Jeane Brunson said her office has always shared documents and records with the appraisal district, but her office's responsibility stops at being the official record keeper. It is not responsible for notifying anyone of the records it files, she said.

Mayors of both cities said they would take proactive steps to prevent similar situations recurring by following up on the city's duties to ensure the different departments have received and acknowledged documents and notifications.

"We'll take care of the crack so it's not going to fall in the cracks," Marshall said. "And of course our current staff is going to review the tax rolls every year."

Marshall said she and her staff first realized some properties in the city were missing from the tax roll during their budget process last winter.

But the city waited to inform the affected residents because it wanted to thoroughly research the situation, she said.

Hammonds said he and his staff will be more aware and conscientious of plats they receive from cities. He said his office also notified the rest of the cities in the county of the situation last week, asking them to let the appraisal district know if there are discrepancies between their boundaries and the county maps.

He said no other city has called back regarding boundary discrepancies.