There are times when it's best to leave decisions, especially those that require technological expertise, in the hands of the technology experts.

With the city on the brink of plunging ahead with Honolulu's most expensive public works project ever, the City Council has arrived at just such a moment.

Council members are expected today to discuss the type of vehicle technology that should be used in the 34-mile mass-transit system that is planned to run from Kapolei to Ala Moana. Estimated cost: $5 billion.

For that much money, taxpayers ought to want the best information brought to bear on the final decision, and to keep political influences to an absolute minimum.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann proposes that a panel of nationally recognized transportation experts have the final say on how the system should run: whether it should be steel on steel; a rubber-tired system; or one that uses some other mode of operation.

That has caused some members of the council to complain that this would leave too much control in the hands of unelected panelists, some of whom would be handpicked by the mayor. The expert panel should be advisory, they argue, but the City Council should issue the final verdict.

They are right about one thing: The makeup of the expert panel is a critical matter. Under the proposal, the mayor would get to choose two of the five members. Two more panelists would be tapped by Council Chairwoman Barbara Marshall and Transportation Chairman Nestor Garcia. Those four panelists would pick the final member.

This format is fair. What's crucial is that the stakeholders — O'ahu's residents — keep a close eye on the names submitted by the administration and council.

The proposal that no members of the panel have ties to a future contractor must be enforced.

There are lucrative contracts at stake in this decision, which will leave a permanent imprint on this city's future. Honolulu will be best served if the people making that decision are as professionally equipped — and insulated from short-term political considerations — as possible.