Voters in a tiny Utah town have struck down a measure that would have dissolved their town government, rejecting a proposal that some said would have led to annexation by a nearby polygamist community.

Preliminary results showed Apple Valley residents voting 167 to 115 against disbanding the town government, town clerk Nathan Bronemann said Tuesday night.

Apple Valley became a town in 2004, and some residents said officials haven't adequately provided basic services.

"We're not anti-government. We're anti-Apple Valley government," resident Debi Groves said Tuesday, adding that she had little faith in town leaders. "It's an oligarchy. You cannot break into it."

Groves discounted fears that neighboring Hildale — a town controlled by jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs — could stage a municipal takeover if Apple Valley were to abolish itself.

"They have no interest in having us in their town," Groves said. "They're neighborly and help out in emergencies, but otherwise don't want anything to do with us."