Municipal mergers in Pennsylvania are rare, so it's unlikely Slippery Rock Borough officials' raising of such a possibility in regard to Slippery Rock Township ever will come to pass.

Even if the state offered big financial incentives for such a move, and now there virtually are none, a rash of mergers is unlikely. It's human nature for people of one municipality to be wary of what another municipality might gain under such a step — or, said another way, what their community might lose.

It's unlikely, for that reason, that the City of Butler and Butler Township ever will merge, despite the much larger municipality it would create. The city has many serious infrastructure problems, and it's doubtful that township residents would embrace the idea of their tax dollars being used to fix problems within the current city boundaries, while problems in what now is the township are ignored.

Beyond that, a merger requires decisions on who the merged community's leaders will be, and that can create anxiety and mistrust.

Still, a merger provides opportunities for savings, such as eliminating some duplicate jobs, such as a solicitor's or engineer's position and clerical positions. Larger municipalities also are more attractive in the eyes of the state and federal governments for grants and loans.

Despite those potential benefits, most people choose to remain loyal to the place they now call home and that loyalty precludes support for changing the status quo.

A comment by Slippery Rock Township Supervisor John Hines in an article in the Jan. 27 Butler Eagle is indicative of the current lack of interest in the township regarding a merger.

"The township is not at this point at any level initiating this. . . ," Hines said. "It's entirely Borough Council pushing the concern."

He predicted that a merger, especially in terms of requiring a much larger police department, would necessitate a big increase in taxes.

With such a prospect, township residents' vote on a merger plan undoubtedly would doom it.

In the Jan. 27 article, Slippery Rock Mayor Ken Harris also acknowledged the difficulty there would be in gaining public support for combining the municipalities.

"There are people who are vigorously for it and people who are against it and say it would ruin either community," Harris said. "It's controversial and complex and paradoxical in a way, because both sides are in some way right. If your goal is keeping taxes low — a merger would still cost more money because of police coverage."

Many bets were made on the outcome of Sunday's Super Bowl game between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints. But for anyone choosing to bet on the outcome of a merger vote involving Slippery Rock Borough and Township, the best advice would be to bet against the prospect of approval.

For any merger vote to succeed, it must be proven that all involved would benefit. At this point, it's hard to fathom that would be possible in a Slippery Rock Borough-Township merger.