That kind of generous prenuptial is what the West Wendover City Councilwoman says is necessary before her town can be hitched with its poorer neighbor, Wendover, Utah.

Her City Council tonight is poised to authorize its staff to identify a host of issues that must be resolved before the shiny Nevada city - flush in gambling revenues - would merge with its Utah counterpart, well-endowed with debt.

Although residents on both sides of the state line have endorsed the merger, the subject continues to be a prickly one. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., steadfastly has opposed moving the Nevada line east to include Wendover.

"It's a lose-lose for West Wendover to take on those encumbrances," said Reilly of the Utah city's various debts.

"But if we can address all the concerns and get everything worked out, it will be a powerful message to Sen. Reid that the people in both communities want this."

Nevada lawmakers know a merger can be accomplished only by agreement with Utah officials, followed by congressional ratification. But they also recognize that the issues involved are local ones, said Scott Young, research analyst for the Nevada legislative counsel.

"Unless, and until, the two communities come together on these issues, it doesn't make sense for the two states to look at it," Young said.

Among the many items to be resolved are debt on the Utah side from recent upgrades at the historic Wendover airport and obligations on school buildings in the Tooele School District, which would be absorbed into a Nevada district. But the list also includes such things as compensation packages for teachers and public safety workers in Utah who could find themselves working in Nevada.

And even such things as building codes and zoning, and whether gaming establishments can be restricted in what is now Utah, enter into the equation.

"A to Z is what it amounts to," said Glenn Wadsworth, Wendover city administrator. "Everybody wants to know what all the facts are before they make a commitment."

Officials on the Utah side will work closely with West Wendover to overcome these hurdles, said Wadsworth. "We have to do the same things they're doing," he said of enumerating the issues and finding ways to resolve them. "The process is going to take a long time." The target for a proposal: 2007.

In the end, Utah and the federal government must underwrite the merger, said Reilly. "It's easy to say, 'Oh, let's do it and everybody will be happy.' But it has to make sense financially."

csmart@sltrib.com