The city of Grovetown is now a city of civility.
During the Grovetown City Council meeting on Monday, April 10, council members adopted a resolution to be in the Georgia Municipal Association’s Embrace Civility program.
“Civility is more than just politeness. It is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking common ground as a starting point for dialogue about differences, listening past one’s preconceptions and teaching others to do the same. Civility is the hard work of staying present even with those with whom we have deep-rooted and fierce disagreement,” according to the GMA website.
During the city council meeting on Monday, March 13, council member Ceretta Smith told other council members about the embrace civility pledge.
“We live in such a polarized climate these days, so I applaud GMA for stepping up and creating this initiative and this program to get city leaders to take a pledge,” Smith said during that meeting. “We hold the seats that we hold here in the city. People look up to us, they respect us, we’re role models whether you want to be one or not, so it’s really important that we remember that and at all times we make sure we conduct ourselves in a manner that’s civil.”
Smith said it’s okay to agree to disagree, but what’s important for the council members to remember is it’s how they disagree.
“I commend the City of Grovetown for embracing civility and adopting the resolution to become a GMA City of Civility,” said GMA CEO and Executive Director Larry Hanson in a press release from the City of Grovetown. “We believe that Georgia’s cities have a great platform to model open, free, and vigorous debate, while maintaining the highest standards of civility, honesty, and mutual respect.”
Grovetown isn’t the only city to take the pledge of civility. The Harlem City Council has also taken the pledge. The council also approved a resolution pledging to practice and promote civility in Harlem.
Stephanie Hill is a staff writer covering Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com
