The 200-member association was billed $5,269.26 this fall for its post office, adjacent village green, four tennis courts and three parcels of undeveloped land.

Gary Hunt, vice chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said the town had no choice but to tax the society.

“We are compelled to obey the law,” he said. “Legally, they never should have been exempt.”

The assessor, Tom Edwards of Newport, said nothing the society owns was ever taxed. The group has owned property in Hancock since the 1930s.

“I can’t tell you why,” Edwards said. “It was a decision that was made many, many years ago.”

Esther Peirce, president of the society, said the association has never paid taxes because that was the way it always was and no one ever questioned it.

The society, which charges its adult members dues of $50 a year, was formed in 1904 mainly to address the issue of garbage disposal for its members.

“Traditionally the town of Hancock has abated, or forgiven, or excused, not assessed, real estate taxes,” she said.

Edwards discovered the omission while conducting a full revaluation. Part of his contract was to create an electronic database of the property records.

“It’s not so much that I’m the smartest guy in the world,” he said. “They had zero that was computerized. You’re eventually going to open every can of worms and find every dead body.”

Edwards said that in order to be exempt from property taxes, the association must be designated a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation and certified by the Secretary of State’s office.

He said the society actually is a 501(c)4 corporation, which is a not-for-profit that operates for the benefit of its members, much like a private golf course.

Peirce and other members said they questioned how the society is defined for tax purposes since they provide sailing and tennis scholarships to local children.

When notified they would have to begin paying property taxes, the group submitted paperwork to the town in support of continuing its tax-exempt status.

“We reaffirmed the openness of the facilities and the programs to Hancock citizens and said we believe the common use of these properties benefits the town as well as [society] members,” Peirce said.

She said the association has made significant contributions of money and service to volunteer fire and police departments, the annual Santa Fund drive, and to other town endeavors.

The town, however, declined to issue a tax abatement.

Edwards did advise the town not to tax the association for its wharf since the society has always given the town unrestricted access to the pier.

The wharf is used by private fishermen, recreational boaters and lobstermen, among others.

Peirce said that although the town makes a contribution toward maintenance of the wharf, the actual cost of repair, service and maintenance is generally several times the amount the town pays.

And now, she said, the work needed on the wharf is extensive.

“Wear and tear over the years, from weather and seasonal usage, have made the wharf potentially unsafe,” Peirce said.

The society has initiated a drive seeking donations to a “Rebuild the Wharf” fund, which she said the town office is handling.

Peirce said bids to replace the wharf are high and it is possible it may have to be taken out of service next spring until financing for a major rebuilding is found.

The society properties that are now taxed include: the post office, which was built to make mail collection and delivery simpler for association members; the adjoining village green, which, with the post office property, make up seven-tenths of an acre; four tennis courts on two sides of Hancock Point Road, which total 13/8 acres, and three vacant lots off Point Road, which total slightly over two acres.

The association also learned it did not own something it had always assumed it did own — the library.

Edwards said the Hancock Point Library Association is an entity unto itself and falls under the exemption for literary and scientific organizations.