CUMBERLAND (AP) – Cumberland’s council has voted 6-1 against a move by Chebeague Island’s residents to break away from the southern Maine town, setting the stage for further study into the breakaway plan and negotiations that could be long and difficult.

“I have a terrible feeling in my gut” about the way talks will proceed, said Donna Damon, the lone councilor from Chebeague who cast the single vote Monday night in favor of secession.

Damon also said she’s concerned that other councilors were using the vote to gain a tactical advantage over islanders during negotiations.

The vote came three weeks after Chebeague residents, concerned about how taxes are being spent, voiced their desire to break away from Cumberland. On Election Day, 86 percent of the islanders voted to break away from the town, while on the mainland, 53 percent voted against secession.

Council had three options Monday: to endorse secession, table a vote or vote against it. Approving the idea would have sent it to the state Legislature.

Town Councilor Stephen Moriarty, who voted against secession, said he’s not against the islanders, but believes it would be premature to endorse secession.

without studying its full impacts.

“I’m convinced there is going to be at least one other vote, and maybe more along the way,” Moriarty said.

With Monday night’s vote, town officials and islanders will commence negotiations in which a number of difficult issues must be addressed. They must decide how much money islanders would owe Cumberland for town debt retirement, who gets ownership of 16 small islands surrounding Chebeague, and how much tax bills would increase on the mainland if the island secedes.

If initial talks fail, a mediator will be brought in and the sides would have up to six months to find common ground.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-11-29-05 0757EST