Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl advertised a buffet of the city's services, from building inspection to animal control, to representatives of more than 50 municipalities in Allegheny County last week.

Municipal officials in eastern suburbs say they are willing to taste test some items, but they aren't ready for a full belly of shared services.

Representatives from Wilkins and Penn Hills say the idea of buying city-provided services for animal control and training programs could benefit their communities, but other initiatives may not work as well.

"I don't foresee us combining garbage," said Cathy Boyd, Penn Hills purchasing agent, who attended the meeting. "Penn Hills is too big of a municipality. I don't think they can handle it."

Wilkins manager Rebecca Bradley, who already has begun discussions with Churchill and Swissvale to bid for a joint garbage contract, said the township is open to consolidation as long as the plan is mutually beneficial.

"I think we will continue to explore options for consolidation with, not only the city, but with other municipalities. The goal of consolidation is to reduce prices while at the same time increasing or keeping level the services that are provided," she wrote in an e-mail message.

McKeesport city administrator Dennis Pittman said the city is considering using Pittsburgh's garbage collection and animal control services when their contracts with private companies expire at the end of the year.

He said Pittsburgh's animal control service was appealing because it is better staffed than the current provider, Triangle Pet Control Service, of McKees Rocks.

He added that he found the city's garbage service appealing because of the success of a shared service venture in Wilkinsburg. Wilkinsburg stands to save $1 million over three years through a combined municipal waste contract.

Plum did not send a representative to the meeting, but in the past, the borough has turned down offers of shared services from the county. The borough still operates its own emergency call center, though most municipalities have joined a countywide center.

But manager Mike Thomas said he is passing the information on to council members and that they would be receptive if there would be a cost savings.

"We are constantly looking at opportunities to do things jointly so we can save money," he said.

While combining services with the city has been advantageous for communities such as Wilkinsburg, officials are hesitant to view this as an attempt to sell the idea of an overall city-county merger.

"If they would have come out and even mentioned a merger with the county, they would have gotten a lot of cold shoulders," said Ms. Boyd. "Say they [merge] and send all purchasing needs to the county. A lot of people would be out of work."

Mr. Pittman agreed and said any consolidation or joint purchasing ventures would have to be examined with consideration of local businesses and service providers.

"If [it's] cost prudent we would want to do that," he said. "But you also want to leave your expenditures with local businesses if you can."

But for him, it was less about politics and more about the bottom line for Pittsburgh and surrounding municipalities.

"The mayor of Pittsburgh is sitting down with his department heads making a prudent business decision to sustain the viability of the city of Pittsburgh," he said. "When you create win-win situations, the political ramifications become secondary."

Mr. Thomas, the manager for Plum, said he sees the shared services offer as a prelude to more consolidation, though not necessarily a city-county merger.

"Ultimately, down the road, as tax dollars become more and more difficult to come by, possibly bottom-line mentalities will outweigh parochialism," he said.

Penn Hills manager Terry Van Horn said the municipality has not ruled out any possibilities at this time.

"Because of a situation where we're bigger than a lot of other communities, I have to think long and hard about it. I know it's the way to go in these times of sharing, but I have to look at specifics. We're not going to close any doors. We're open to suggestions," he said, adding that Penn Hills already has joint purchasing agreements for salt, asphalt and other commodities.