Tyco International Ltd.’s shareholders defeated by a three-quarters majority a proposal to change the company’s incorporation jurisdiction from Bermuda to Delaware at its annual meeting in March. However, the support of more than 26 percent of investors for the measure was unexpected, according to the Boston Globe; proponents had expected to receive less than 20 percent of the vote.

Joseph Conzo, a New York emergency medical technician, introduced the measure. “In New York, they’re closing firehouses and laying off paramedics because Tyco’s not paying taxes,” he told the Globe. Tyco’s offices are on West 57th St.

Tyco’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edward Breen said the question of whether the company returns to the United States is a “priority issue” for the newly elected board to review over the next year.

In other votes, shareholders were able to pass a measure (57.7 percent) requiring that future executive severance agreements be approved by shareholder vote. And although it was defeated, 33.1 percent of the shareholders voted to require that the CEO couldn’t also serve as chairman of the board.