The proposal is that later this year about 2000 volunteers will be sought from across the region to consider the local authority's finances and suggest where savings should be made. Their views would then be fed to councillors who would still make the final decision.

It will be no easy task. Budget cuts totalling at least £36 million are going to be required in 2011/12 and 2012/13 and most of the easy savings have already been identified and implemented. As one observer put it: we are already down to the bone, the next step is to sever a limb.

Of course, some other countries already go much further down this route of public involvement. In Switzerland, for instance, referendums are an important part of political life, taking place at national, regional and local level. They are held if a sufficient number of people petition for a vote on an issue or by other statutory triggers, such as when expenditure exceeds a certain amount.

Supporters say they increase public participation in the political process and even contribute to stability and happiness. The mere threat of a plebiscite is often enough to force elected members to seek a compromise solution or amend an unpopular policy.

Opponents complain they slow the decision-making process down and deter politicians from seeking bold solutions to problems.

Here, although the council is only proposing to establish a mechanism to canvas opinion, similar arguments will undoubtedly rage. How, for instance, will the volunteers be screened to ensure the initiative is not hijacked by political parties or special interest groups? What will it cost, and how much weight will councillors give to the views expressed, particularly if no consensus emerges on a particular issue? And will they try to shift the blame for unpopular decisions onto the panel?

All these questions need to be answered, but they should not be allowed to stand in the way of what appears to be a genuine attempt at public involvement.

Despite the risk of adding another bureaucratic layer to an already time-consuming process, people need to reconnect with politics in general and local politics in particular, and this might just be the way to do it. To work there must be full disclosure. A selective release of information to steer the panel towards a certain conclusion would not be acceptable, nor would any attempt to restrict discussion to "soft" issues.

To set the ball rolling, the council ought to announce that the Citizens' Panel will be consulted on perhaps the most contentious issue facing the authority next year - whether to press ahead with the building and operation of new care homes for the elderly. Releasing all the fact and figures to the group, and allowing it to consider both sides of the argument, would help counter the feeling amongst campaigners that scrapping the policy is already a done deal.

It would be a brave move. But one that represented a real statement of intent.

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