Local Government Leaders Address Citizen Incivility

Across the country, local government officials and staff are increasingly facing a concerning trend: citizen incivility. Like many others, local governments in our region have to find ways to navigate this challenging issue. In Centralina’s recent membership survey, citizen incivility emerged as a topic our members expressed interest in discussing.  

Prompted by this feedback, we set out to create an opportunity that would allow Centralina members to share their experiences with citizen incivility and learn strategies for navigating challenging interactions with the public. We leveraged our partnership with the UNC School of Government and hosted discussions around citizen incivility with elected officials at our May 14 Board of Delegates meeting and with city and county managers at our May 21 Regional Managers Group meeting. At both meetings, Dr. Leisha DeHart-Davis presented findings from the School of Government’s Citizen Incivility Grant Project, an initiative studying public hostility towards local governments across the state. Dr. DeHart-Davis shared real-life examples of this behavior and explained how it creates a vicious cycle that can lead to employee exhaustion, workplace incivility and reduced public service delivery.  

Through lively, frank discussions, meeting attendees reflected on the challenging encounters they and their colleagues have had with the public. Dr. DeHart-Davis offered strategies that communities can implement to mitigate the effects of these interactions. Some key takeaways from the presentation and discussions included: 

• Understanding and supporting the emotional labor associated with public service  

• Establishing civility policies to promote respectful behavior  

• Providing civility training to elected officials and staff 

The School of Government is expected to release additional tools and resources in the coming months to support local governments in addressing this issue. 

Centralina remains committed to facilitating these critical conversations and working collaboratively with member governments to address the challenges of citizen incivility and promote a more respectful civic environment. Interested in learning more? Contact Kelly Weston.