West Jordan City Manager Gary Luebbers is one of four final candidates vying for a similar post in Goodyear, Ariz., a burgeoning suburb southwest of Phoenix.

Luebbers, who has rejected three job offers in the past few years to stay in West Jordan, said he and his wife, Jeannie, want to move closer to two of their daughters and three granddaughters who live in Highland, Calif. That would be about a four-hour drive from Goodyear.

''I wouldn't leave West Jordan just to go,'' he said, noting a new position would have to be near family and in a ''really nice place. Goodyear's a nice place.''

Luebbers is scheduled for an interview Wednesday with the Goodyear City Council. The other three candidates, hailing from Texas and Florida, also will be interviewed this week and a decision is expected in the next two to four weeks, according to Goodyear City Attorney Roric Massey.

The city received 81 applications for the job, he said.

Luebbers earns $174,000 a year working for Utah's fourth most-populous city and expects to find comparable pay in Arizona, which he noted has higher salary structures than Utah for government employees.

"If I get [a raise], good," he said. "But this isn't about money."

West Jordan City Councilman Mike Kellermeyer said he was "a little put out" to learn Luebbers has applied for another job without notifying the council.

Kellermeyer is critical of the manager's salary, but said he always has been satisfied with Luebbers' performance.

"I don't want to be left high and dry for a city manager," said Kellermeyer, who is seeking a second term in today's election against Ben Southworth.

Luebbers, who said he applied for the Goodyear post in July, plans to give West Jordan at least two months' notice if he decides to leave. But he is unsure if he's ready to quit after seven years helping to shape a city that just topped 100,000 in population.

"You get in the middle of doing things and you don't want to go until they're done," said Luebbers, who previously lived in California. "We didn't think we'd grow roots here, but we did."

Goodyear is a rapidly growing city of close to 50,000 people. Incorporated in 1946, the town was named after Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The business owned a 16,000-acre cotton farm that it used to make rubber tires for World War I airplanes. During World War II, the tire company ran a blimp-manufacturing plant in the small town.

rwinters@sltrib.com