PORTLAND (AP) – Residents of Portland’s most populous island voted Tuesday to secede from the city and make a go of it on their own.

The secession effort on Peaks Island started as a revolt against high taxes that secession proponents say threaten the future of the island, which has 900 year-round residents and about 5,000 residents during the height of the summer.

But opponents said secession supporters were using shoddy estimates on how much it would cost to run the island. They maintain that they are better off remaining part of Portland.

The final tally was 393 to 290, with 57.5 percent of voters favoring secession.

in unofficial returns. Nearly 70 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, said City Clerk Linda Cohen.

But the City Council still has to vote on the proposal, and the Maine Legislature will have the final say on whether the island should be granted independence.

Portland last faced the question of Peaks Island’s secession 11 years ago, when secession efforts failed by a single vote in the Maine Senate.

Long Island seceded from Portland 13 years ago to become its own town. Nearby Chebeague Island won its independence from Cumberland earlier this year and will become a town of its own on July 1, 2007.

AP-ES-06-13-06 2228EDT