Business leaders who’d like to see more mergers among Washtenaw County’s chambers of commerce aren’t likely to get their wish anytime soon.

The Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti chambers announced in December they would merge, forming the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber. But other Washtenaw County chambers say they are nowhere near pursuing a similar path.

“I’ve had no discussion with other chambers about this,” Saline Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Larry Osterling said. "We service the Saline area and the five surrounding townships, and we had another good year. We’re an advocate for our community and our market in this area.”

The Saline chamber has been holding steady at about 500 members for the last year and a half, and Osterling said he doesn’t think a merger with any other chamber could lead to better service.

“If you’re talking about efficiencies in operation, I don’t know how that would work any better than we are already,” he said. “We operate within our budget, have adequate resources, work profitably and have been a respected business advocate in our community.”

The Dexter Area Chamber of Commerce has been losing membership and would be open to any discussion, president Andrew Kudwa said.

“I think it’s important for us to look at all possibilities at this point,” he said. “You see what Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti have done, and I think it’s a great example of collaboration. I think for smaller chambers, you also have to look into whether we are going to lose any identity if we go into such collaboration. The bottom line is we have to look at how we can add more value to members.”

To do that, the Dexter chamber is reexamining its mission statement and is starting a new tracking system on its e-newsletter to gauge member value.

Regardless of whether the Dexter chamber enters any discussion about a merger of its own, Kudwa said he would consult with the new Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti chamber to see how they’re able to improve service.

“I want to talk with Ann Arbor and Ypsi to see how they make it work, and maybe use some of the things that have worked for them,” he said.

“We’d be open to all suggestions or ideas. If someone would come to us, we’re not going to turn them away. It’d be good to open up dialogue.”

In turn, the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti chamber will be open to working with other area chambers, board chair Karl Couyoumjian said.

"The regional chamber would certainly welcome working with any or all of the chambers in Washtenaw County on any kind of basis. It makes a lot of sense," he said. "First, it's important to get through our merger, and get all that done."

There's strong incentive for increased regionalism among Washtenaw chambers, Couyoumjian said.

"I think there's a definite benefit to some of the smaller chambers, in terms of offerings and services that the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber will have," he said. "Going forward, we're going to be looking at everything from a regional basis."

However, it doesn’t seem as though Washtenaw County's other chambers are hurrying into such discussions. The idea has never come up at the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director Bob Pierce said.

“I really have not been involved with any discussion or any planning,” he said. “It has not come up in any meetings.”

Pierce said he knew too little about the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti merger to even speculate on whether something like that might work in Washtenaw County’s smaller communities.

“Until we really understand what those mergers mean - as we know, the devil’s always in the details - I really have no comment,” Pierce said.