Lewiston’s property tax cap panel will meet for the first time tonight.

Unfortunately, the panel has lost much of its punch.

Originally, City Administrator Jim Bennett suggested forming a committee of city residents to produce a budget under the constraints of the Palesky tax cap proposal.

The cap would limit property taxes to 1 percent of valuation, reducing Lewiston’s revenue from about $39 million to just $14 million. Bennett’s idea was to bring together residents and let them see the damage the cap could cause to city services.

It was a publicity stunt, but one with value.

The City Council didn’t go for the idea. So now the tax panel includes the mayor and all the council members, along with one appointee each. A tax panel dominated by the City Council and their hand-picked designees will not provide the type of nongovernmental analysis that Bennett sought. That’s too bad.

Some good can still come out of the process, however. The panel intends to work up a what-if city budget. That document, while full of conditionals, will still be helpful as voters weigh the impact of voting in favor of the tax cap.