No Room for Hate

City Council Civility Invocation confirms City’s stance as hate-free zone

The City of Salida has been declared a hate-free zone through the passage of resolution 2020-32. The message to our community is that all people and opinions are valued.

This new resolution amends and readopts Council’s Civility Invocation, which was adopted in March to bolster and promote civility in discussions between members of Council and Salida residents in attendance. 

With direction from City Council, City staff and representatives of the Civility Coalition prepared an amendment to the invocation which reinforces the City of Salida as a hate-free zone and confirms a policy of non-discrimination on the basis of a person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, marital status, military or veteran status, political affiliation, socio-economic class, medical condition, or physical or mental disability. 

It also explicitly condemns acts causing fear, intimidation, harassment, and harm motivated by bias or prejudice. 

The resolution reads, “The Salida City Council desires to conduct its business and governance with civility towards participants in its regular meetings and to provide an example of conduct that supports engagement,” and goes on to say that Council “encourages lively and passionate debate that provokes thoughtful and inclusive decision-making, without actions or words that limit or discourage participation.”

The Salida City Council will recite the Civility Invocation at every regular and special meeting during the call to order. It will encourage its subordinate boards and committees to do the same.

The Civility Invocation reads as follows (the new language is underlined):

We are here working together to create a thriving community. It is the intention of the Salida City Council to promote civil communication by adopting the following guidelines for speaking to the public in the City Council Chambers. It is our hope that by acting in this manner we can help create a safe space for people to share their perspectives and opinions:

• We honor the opportunity to be engaged in the process of governance for the benefit of our community.
• We acknowledge that each of us brings a unique perspective to this conversation and that our perspectives may differ. We challenge ourselves to value varying points of view and hold all contributions as equally important.
• We understand and accept that while we may sometimes disagree, we can always be courteous and kind.
• We commit to respectful language, avoiding rumor, harsh criticism or personal accusation, even when feeling emotionally charged.
• We will, to the best of our ability, speak thoughtfully and listen with attention, respect, and curiosity.
• We are confident that there may be even better solutions than any of us have thought of, which may be discovered through civil conversations.
• We commit to the City of Salida being a hate-free zone and declare and affirm a policy of non-discrimination on the basis of a person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, marital status, military or veteran status, political affiliation, socio-economic class, medical condition, or physical or mental disability.