Lichfield and Burntwood risk being carved up with the rest of Staffordshire if combined authority proposals go ahead.
Both Manchester and Birmingham have been earmarked by the Government to create regional centres.
Lichfield District Council leader Mike Wilcox insists no decision has been made on whether or not his authority will sign up to a Midlands project.
Talks have also been held with Staffordshire, with Cllr Wilcox saying the county council were adopting a wait and see attitude.
But Cllr Martyn Tittley, Conservative representative for Armitage with Handsacre, said the risks of Staffordshire councils not circling the wagons and getting together could be high.
“We stick out as somewhere people can look at and stick lots of houses,” he said.
“There needs to be a move towards joining a Staffordshire combined authority otherwise they’ll just take us and the county apart, dividing places between Birmingham and Manchester.”
Cllr Tittley also said any delay in making a combined authority choice could be costly.
Councils are bracing themselves for a further cut in Government funding later this summer.
“The decision may be taken out of our hands,” he said. “If the funding settlement is cut by half by the Government then we will not exist and will need to join some sort of combined authority somewhere.”
