For most, it's a sound investment - with payoffs of legislative influence, a variety of professional services and classroom training for elected officials. But the state's fourth largest city, now in the midst of crunching its annual budget, is not sure whether its $41,000 tab is worth it.

West Jordan dropped out of the league in 2005, then rejoined in 2006. But its City Council is divided over whether to belong.

"It's just a question of fairness," Councilman Rob Bennett says. "We're not getting as much benefit as we're paying."

Bennett worries that larger cities foot much of the league's expenses, while smaller ones reap most of the benefits. Smaller cities, Bennett contends, are more likely to take advantage of the league's training, legal counsel and land-planning advice.

And, he says, the state's small communities, collectively, can control the league's policy stands during the Legislature.

Withdrawing from the 100-year-old league is rare. Executive Director Ken Bullock, says a major Utah city has not dropped out - except West Jordan - during his 16 years at the helm. Last year, all 242 Utah cities and towns belonged.

"We're not [a] fly-by-night organization. We've been around the block" Bullock says. "It doesn't mean that people don't question [whether they are] getting a fair value.

"Those are very legitimate questions that should be asked. We should have to show our value."

The league has 12 full-time staff members - it sometimes hires contract employees - and it operates on an annual budget of $1.5 million. About $900,000 of that is collected from cities' dues, which are based on population, sales-tax revenue and property values. The rest comes from donations and the sale of membership directories.

Salt Lake City pays more than $100,000. Ophir, a 25-resident Tooele County town, is the state's smallest and pays $15 to belong.

During his first year in office in 2000, Mayor Rocky Anderson threatened to pull the state's capital out of the league, which had supported a bill that Anderson opposed.

But the City Council overruled the mayor, who still believes league membership is a "waste of money," Anderson's spokesman, Patrick Thronson, says.

Thronson summarizes his boss's views this way: "Representation in the League of Cities and Towns is not proportional to the populations of cities. It's anti-democratic in the sense that rural interests can exert a disproportionate influence on the formation of league policy."

On the other side of the issue is Provo Mayor Lewis Billings, who is league president this year. He says his city's membership is invaluable. But to get the most out of it, city officials need to be involved.

"It's not about putting in a dollar and getting a dollar back. It's about having an effective voice [and] building the relationships so . . . we're able to be effective" at the Legislature.

West Jordan pulled its membership in 2005 after the league supported a bill that placed a moratorium on cities' ability to use eminent domain - or property condemnation - for redevelopment.

The city was planning a $40 million mixed-use project to rejuvenate the area east of City Hall - and it needed the power of condemnation to pull it off. The block, which sits across Redwood Road (1700 West), is still mostly a vacant strip mall.

The league's position "was 180 degrees from what our interests were," says Councilman Bennett.

He sent an e-mail to Bullock earlier this month, wondering if there's a more equitable way to distribute cities' votes. The councilman's idea: Proportional representation based on population or a flat membership fee for everybody.

So far, he hasn't gotten a response.

Meanwhile, West Jordan's council began debating the issue last week, but it probably won't decide until May or June whether to remain in the league.

Councilman Lyle Summers supported the membership drop in 2005. Now he believes that was a mistake. He hopes he can prevail on his colleagues to pay the dues. This year, West Jordan is preparing to celebrate its 100,000th resident.

"We're ready to be a first-class city," Summers says, who belongs to the league's legislative policy committee. "It would be foolish for any city - especially one as large as ours - to just sit on the sidelines."

rwinters@sltrib.com