The Chapel Hill Town Council made a wise choice on Monday by rescinding its vote the previous week to make themselves and other council members eligible for lifetime insurance benefits after serving eight years. Though council work is indeed demanding, town employees have to report for duty full time for 20 years to get the same benefit. Given this year’s budget and the acknowledgement that health care costs for the town are on the rise (again), the council’s move last week looked pretty tone deaf.

First, the move hit the radar as an already done deal, although the deal seemed to lack of details — like, say, the cost — and was up for a vote in a part of the council agenda that is reserved for items of wide consensus to be passed in bulk.

Second were the details that were there, which, given the differences in requirements for years of service and duties between the elected and the rank and file, seemed pretty unfair.

Unfortunately, there are people who for reasons both sound and not-so-sound will jump at the chance to rail about government. Through its clumsiness, the council has given them plenty of ammunition to do so.