The Bayville Fire Company said in a new court filing that Centre Island owes more than $500,000 in unpaid bills, escalating a legal dispute over the cost of fire protection in the small North Shore village. 

The village sued the department in February 2024 after the fire company told village officials it would stop fighting fires without a new contract.

The department had imposed a $120,000 surcharge on the village’s annual bill to cover the cost of a specialized pumper truck it uses for emergencies. There are no fire hydrants in the Village of Centre Island, which has a population of more than 400 residents.

Adam Glassman, an attorney for the fire company, said in a counterclaim on June 10 that the village has “refused to honor its contractual payment obligations.”

A state Supreme Court judge ordered the fire company to continue serving the island last year as the dispute over a new agreement dragged on, Newsday previously reported. Centre Island is only accessible through Bayville and, village officials say, no other fire company can reasonably provide services there. 

In a 50-page court filing, the fire company said the village owes $138,000 for 2023-2024 and $400,000 for 2024-2025, plus interest.

“Despite owing these substantial sums, the Village has continued to receive and accept fire protection services from [Bayville Fire Company] without payment,” attorneys for the fire company said in the filing. The refusal to make those payments while continuing to accept service "constitutes a material breach of the parties' agreements," the filing said.

Glassman, in his filing, criticized Centre Island Mayor Lawrence Schmidlapp for touting an initiative that saved residents $250,000 in fire protection costs.

The mayor made that claim "when in fact the Village owes substantial unpaid amounts," Glassman said.

Joseph Bjarnson, an attorney for the village, declined to comment on the department's new filings. Glassman declined to comment. Schmidlapp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.