Battle over fire protection billing heats up in Roslyn

An ongoing dispute between the Village of Roslyn and local volunteer fire companies who have sued the municipality for allegedly unpaid services has begun to boil over as the parties recently traded accusations in letters to residents.

Mayor John Durkin said in a June 12 letter posted on the village's website that the 2022 bill rose by 48.2% from the previous year.

It was a response to a letter the fire companies sent to residents that claimed that the village has refused to pay its bill for fire protection services.

Durkin attributed the increase to a 2021 change in Nassau County's property tax assessment formula, which has been used to calculate how much the village should pay fire companies that service their area.

“We are no larger or more difficult to protect from fire than we were in 2020,” Durkin wrote. “The only change was the county’s method of assessment, which resulted in some villages twice our size seeing reduction in cost, while ours skyrocketed by 48.2%.”

Durkin said the village was projected to pay $558,956 but instead was hit with a bill of almost $800,000.

The dispute started last year and intensified in November when Rescue Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 of Roslyn and the Roslyn Highlands Volunteer Engine and Hose Company filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Nassau County claiming that the village still owed $239,859 for their services.

The village paid the companies the $558,956 projected as costs, but the fire companies said the annual total bill was $792,815. The fire companies are seeking nearly $240,000 and interest, according to court records.

“Plaintiffs expended substantial work in good faith on behalf of and at the behest of the defendants with the expectation that defendants would compensate plaintiffs for said work,” Steven Cohn, the attorney for the fire companies, said in the lawsuit. “Defendants accepted and retained the benefits of such work but failed and refuse to pay for the same.”

Fire officials from both companies and their attorney didn't respond to requests for comments. 

Besides Roslyn, the fire companies also service other parts of the Town of North Hempstead, along with Oyster Bay and several other North Shore villages.

The village has hired Mineola-based real estate consultants Standard Valuation Services to review the method the fire companies used to bill the village.

In his letter, Durkin called the dispute “a money matter” based on “antiquated accounting practices that the executive board of the fire companies had dug their heels into.”

He called the lawsuit a mistake and doubled down on his position against paying the $239,859, saying the village is shielding residents from “rapacious activity" but that the litigation won't jeopardize resident safety.

At a Tuesday board meeting, Durkin said the parties have a mediation session next week but didn't comment further.