The City of Peachtree Corners has been designated as a City of Civility by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA). The City adopted a civility resolution as part of GMA’s new Embrace Civility program during the February 28, 2023, Council Meeting. Peachtree Corners is just the 23rd city out of 537 in Georgia to earn this designation.

GMA, in partnership with the Association’s nonprofit organization, Georgia City Solutions, created the Embrace Civility program to equip Georgia’s cities with resources to create more civility in their meetings and among their residents and meeting attendees. Civil behavior and speech are critically important to a healthy, functional, and respectful society. For public service to be effective, there must be an atmosphere of respect and tolerance and a commitment to a healthy public exchange of diverse ideas and viewpoints.

According to GMA, 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 a deep-rooted and fierce disagreement.

"Having seen first-hand the civility of the interactions among our council members and with our residents, I was pleased to introduce the resolution to earn us the designation as a Georgia City of Civility," said Peachtree Corners City Councilman Eric Christ.

In a 2019 poll conducted by Weber Shandwick, Civility in America, 2019, 93 percent of Americans believe that incivility is a problem, with 68 percent identifying incivility as a major problem.

To become a City of Civility, city councils are required to adopt a Civility Resolution and pledge to engage in civil behavior with each other as well as with residents and meeting attendees. Cities also have a civility pledge that can be published or recited at meetings. Learn more about the Embrace Civility program at www.gacities.com/civility.