The Detroit Free Press reported recently that members of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission recently stood by their decision to give themselves a raise, with a motion to reconsider failing because of a tie vote.

Republicans supported reconsideration. Democrats opposed it. Independents split on the matter.

The commission gave themselves a 7% pay hike, the Free Press reported, despite budget problems caused by mounting legal bills associated with the expected challenges to the congressional and legislative districts the commission drew.

Disgusting.

We agree the commissioners perform an important task, creating the districts that determine representation in the Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives.

But the commissioners did not perform that task entirely nobly, last year losing a battle with media outlets and other government transparency advocates over improper closed-door meetings.

Besides that, the commission is just about brand-new, seated for the first time Sept. 17, 2020 and drawing its first-ever maps last year. Those maps aren’t even settled until the legal challenges run their course. It’s a bit presumptuous to approve a pay raise so quickly, especially since some commissioners see their hardest work behind them after the marathon meetings that led to the creation of the political district maps.

Finally, the commission has a $1.2 million budget deficit. No government official ought to be granting himself or herself a raise when they’re in the red with the people’s money.

In short, the commissioners didn’t deserve the raise in the first place and ought to reconsider the reconsideration.