But that casual quip has intrigued a few city leaders, who want to know whether there could be any substance to the jest.

"I think there are a lot of reasons why it would make sense to have one single city," Centerville Mayor Ronald Russell said of possibly combining municipal forces with Bountiful, West Bountiful, Woods Cross and North Salt Lake.

The five Davis communities have already teamed to form the South Davis Recreation Center and South Davis Metro Fire Agency, both in Bountiful. The part-time mayors began their one-city joshing while sitting on the boards of those two organizations.

That kidding around took a more serious turn after a recent recreation center meeting. Russell and Woods Cross Mayor Kent Parry talked of possibly commissioning a study into the advantages and disadvantages of forming one city.

Since the cities have been able to save money by creating unified fire and recreation districts, Parry said, there might be other areas in which it's more cost-effective to unite than to duplicate services, such as parks, trails and sewers.

And maybe further in the future, such alliances could lead to a five-city merger, likely creating a city that would be among Utah's 10 most populous.

"The communities now are so overlapping that there are few people who know where one city stops and another begins," Parry said, adding that development will likely replace his city's rural atmosphere and further blend the city with its neighbor, West Bountiful.

Those hard-to-distinguish boundaries make a merger seem practical to Mindy and Corey Neiswender, a Layton couple looking for a home in North Salt Lake, where Mindy works.

"I don't think I'd have a problem with it," she said.

And in urban planning, pooling resources and merging adjacent communities can lead to better services with the same money.

Despite any economic benefits, it's the politics involved in such mergers that bring the big challenges, said University of Utah professor Matthew Burbank.

"The thing that often prevents it is once local governments are established, it's unlikely that they're going to go away," said the Department of Political Science chair. "In part, it's bureaucratic inertia: They're there."

Then there's the smaller-is-better momentum that comes from the popular idea that "a government closest to the people is best," a concept which Burbank said is supported by little evidence.

"What tends to happen - even though people like the idea that they can reach out and touch their government," Burbank said, "most people most of the time don't do that."

Whether it's a small town or a large city, residents usually have the equal opportunity to contact their public officials, said Burbank's colleague and Bountiful resident David Patton.

"I do think professionally, I'd like to see more efficiencies in government, so the merger idea sounds more reasonable to me," Patton said. "But as a resident, I do think it's more important to have more access to your government. Even though most citizens don't take advantage of it, they like to know it's there."

Patton, the Center for Public Policy and Administration director, said that access to government is a key issue for many residents, along with the cost and level of services. He added smaller governments, either through small cities or neighborhood councils with enough autonomy, often can cater their services to the specific needs of residents.

Cynthia Hopkinson lives in West Bountiful because she likes the small-town feel of her community, where ordinances allow for horses, chickens and livestock.

"If we wanted to live in Salt Lake [City], we would have moved to Salt Lake [City]" Hopkinson said.

The cost savings would be considerable if West Bountiful, the least populous of the five, were to merge with a larger city, conceded Mayor James Behunin. He notes individual water, police and streets departments cost his residents more, but "that's the price we pay for our independence."

And he's not alone in his skepticism about a south Davis city. North Salt Lake Mayor Shanna Schaefermeyer said merger talk has "always been in jest, and that's the way I'm considering it right now - in jest."

Her city is bringing in a new mixed-use development and functions well - "to absorb our own identities into one big unit?" Schaefermeyer said. "No, that's not on the horizon."

But other mayors think the communities could retain their individuality in a merger.

If a merger was beneficial, and the cities wanted to pursue the idea, each identity could be retained through their historic downtowns and unique celebrations, said Bountiful Mayor Joe Johnson. "In Salt Lake [City] we know where Rose Park is. We know where's the Avenues, where's Sugar House."

For Melanie Olson, her nostalgic and emotional ties seem to win over any economic benefits for a merger.

"I grew up here in Bountiful," she said. "So I like Bountiful just like Bountiful."

mariav@sltrib.com

Profiles of South Davis County cities

* Centerville: The 41st most populous city in Utah, based on the U.S. Census Bureau July 1, 2007, population estimates of 15,389.

The city was incorporated into Davis County in 1915 and will be the home of the planned South Davis Cultural Arts Center. The center was pitched as a project for the five south Davis County cities, but only Bountiful partnered with the city.

* Bountiful: The 14th most populous city in Utah based on the 2007 census, which estimates its population at 43,788.

The largest of the five cities, it's also Utah's second-oldest city. Pioneers settled the area and used its foothills as pasture and for farming. It became a city in 1892.

* West Bountiful: The 75th most populous city in Utah based on the 2007 census.

It has an estimated 5,251 residents. The city was incorporated in 1948.

Recently, the City Council reviewed each line item in its budget to bring down costs. Some council members looked into the cost savings of contracting police services with the Davis County Sheriff's Office. Residents filled council chambers in support of the West Bountiful Police Department, the biggest city expense.

* Woods Cross: The 55th most populous city in Utah based on 2007 census estimates, with a population of 8,396.

The city was incorporated in 1935.

The Utah Department of Transportation has plans to widen the two-lane 500 South, one of four exits off Legacy Parkway, to five lanes with shoulders to allow street parking an bike lanes. City officials see the street, which marks the border with West Bountiful, as a future development corridor.

* North Salt Lake: The 44th most populous city in Utah, with 12,628 residents, based on 2007 census estimates.

The city was incorporated in 1946. Elections have been held suggesting a name change to "Orchard Hills" in 1981 and "Orchard City" in 2004. Both times the measure failed.