Uncertainty over a future parking lot lease between the Steamship Authority and the town of Falmouth has led to a change in billing for Islanders who hold annual parking permits this year.

At their monthly meeting in New Bedford Tuesday, boat line governors voted to bill all customers for parking permits from May 15, when the current permits expire, until the end of 2015. The partial year fee for the Woods Hole lot is $565, and for the Palmer avenue lot, $410. The SSA will begin billing permit holders for the full calendar year on Jan. 1.

The boat line leases parking lot space in Woods Hole from the town. The lease expires at the end of the year.

The issue surfaced recently during interviews with prospective candidates for a new Falmouth SSA governor. The town selectmen appoint their representative to the five-member boat line board.

At a televised meeting on March 2, Falmouth selectman Doug Jones asked each of the candidates a question about future lease negotiations.

“What should you ask for,” Mr. Jones said, addressing the first candidate interviewed. “The town of Falmouth owns the lot that long term Vineyarders park in through a lease that we have with the Steamship Authority. It’s sort of the only playing card we hold. We have that one card, how should we play it?”

Elizabeth Gladfelter, the candidate who was eventually appointed to the board, said the town should be proactive in the negotiations.

“There aren’t very many parking places in Woods Hole,” Ms. Gladfelter said in her interview. “I think some of those parking places should be used for public parking for Woods Hole. I think Falmouth has to be proactive. What is it that we want?”

In a phone interview this week, Mr. Jones downplayed the possibility that the town would not renew the lease.

“I don’t think there’s any idea of not coming up with some lease with the SSA,” he said. “Some of the conditions may change, but I think we’ll come up with something mutually agreeable.”

Falmouth town manager Julian Suso said there has been no discussion about the agreement.

“The only thing we’ve discussed is the lease expires at calendar year end,” Mr. Suso said. “We will be discussing a successor package. It’s premature to say what it’s going to look like, but I think it will be somewhat similar.”

Ms. Gladfelter did not return a phone call seeking comment.

This week SSA general manager Wayne Lamson said he hopes to begin negotiating a new lease soon.

“We started to approach the town last fall, hoping that it would be resolved this spring,” Mr. Lamson said. “We don’t have any control after Dec. 31.”

This year, the boat line paid $210,000 in rent for use of the Woods Hole lot. The lease ties the rent amount to daily parking fees, so as parking fees have increased in the past few years, the rent increased substantially, even though there are very few daily parking fees from the Woods Hole lot. As part of the agreement, the SSA allows public parking on its land adjacent to the vehicle staging area. Falmouth collects meter fees from those spots.

Mr. Lamson said the income from the annual parking permit fees and a small number of daily fees at the Woods Hole lot does not cover the expense of renting the lot and providing shuttle bus service.