Peaks Island has become the second Casco Bay island in eight months to vote for secession.
On June 13 Peaks Island residents voted in favor of secession, 393 votes to 290.
The advisory referendum question asked whether residents favored secession from Portland. As a percentage of votes cast, 58 percent were in favor and 42 percent were opposed, according to the Portland City Clerk’s office. Chebeague Island voted in favor of secession in November 2005 and was granted legislative approval for independence in April of this year.
Michael Richards, moderator of the Peaks Island Independence Committee (IIC) said he was pleased with the result, which he called “a solid majority” in favor of continuing to work for secession. “We recognize that the City of Portland has done good things for the island, but we continue to think that self-government is the best for our community,” he said.
The Peaks Island secession drive has been underway since April 2005 when new property valuations were sent to Portland residents. Values increased so drastically on Peaks that many islanders saw their property taxes double and triple, even though a revaluation is not supposed to raise taxes.
Secession supporters believe islanders can make better decisions about island services and can control spending and taxes better than Portland officials. Opponents say that secession is risky and that it will cost more for an independent Peaks Island to provide services since Portland is able to spread the cost over a large tax base.
Supporters of Peaks Island independence will likely start negotiations with Portland officials to try and arrive at a secession agreement. The Portland City Council was scheduled to vote on Peaks’ secession at its June 19 meeting.
According to the state law on secession, if the council approves the secession request, it can be submitted to the State Legislature. If the council opposes secession, municipal officials must meet with island representatives to resolve the problems related to secession. If there’s no resolution, the two sides must work with an independent mediator. If the two sides cannot agree on all issues six months after starting talks, the matter may be submitted to the Legislature.
Before the vote, secession was vigorously debated on Peaks Island. The IIC campaigned in favor of an independent Peaks Island, while the group Solutions Not Secession worked against the island leaving Portland. The issue was debated in public meetings, through newsgroups on the internet and in letters and opinion articles, in addition to conversations on the island. In addition, Portland city officials campaigned against secession.
“The secession effort has been divisive,” said Chris Hoppin, a member of Solutions Not Secession. “We hope to work with our neighbors to recover from the difficult times of the past year.”