A project is going on in Melbourne that will see a panel of everyday citizens to come up with new ideas and budgetary savings.

A ‘People’s Panel’ of 43 Melburnians will be selected to participate in an upcoming research project.

The panel will advise the city council on how it should spend its money over the next 10 years.

The randomly selected group will be given unprecedented access to the municipality's financial books and experts to influence the spending of $4 billion over 10 years.

In a first for the state, 7500 letters have been sent to business owners, residents and students picked at random, and asked them to be part of a “People’s Panel”.

The names of the willing will be put into a ballot to decide on the final team.

Melbourne Councillor Stephen Mayne has told Victorian newspaper The Age that the project would mean the “silent majority” gets a bigger say on future spending, breaking down the power bloc of vocal individuals and lobby groups.

“This casts aside all the squeaky wheels,” he said.

“It doesn’t allow people to use a megaphone to dominate conversations.

“It’s genuinely sweeping that all aside and really well informing a group in the community and letting them come back with a fresh set of eyes.”

Victorian Local Governance Association chief executive Andrew Hollows says talking about budgets through the normal channels lets councils meet their compliance obligations, but they need to have a “deeper” conversation with residents in order to truly help.

Members of Melbourne’s “People’s Panel” will be paid $500 each for 50 to 100 hours work, after the makeup of the panel is finalised in coming weeks.

The jury is expected to hand down their first recommendations in November.

There is also an online financial tool, which allows anyone else to make their own 10-year budget.