The Code of Civility covers our behavior as Friendship Alliance members of the northern Hays County community, in any public meeting, online forum, mailing list, website, or private correspondence.

1. We are allies. We are individual citizens coming together to protect and ensure our water quality, our continued safe and unfettered use of the aquifers, our beautiful environment, our children’s access to public education, our open spaces, our desired highways, our rural character and our voice in the civic processes that determine these things have decided to unite in our Alliance. We act as individuals and in groups. We commit to recognizing, encouraging and supporting good neighbors who work and act in good faith to protect our families’ way of life, our homes and land.

2. Friendship Alliance Works for Its Members. Affiliate groups are autonomous. We may choose to work together on projects and to form coalitions to support the national, state, and local groups; but groups are self-governed and participation in such coalitions is voluntary. We may not always agree on how things should be done, but we settle disagreements in a forthright and open manner, with civility, and where we cannot come together on a point, we agree to disagree and work at it from different angles. When Friendship Alliance affiliates with groups and individuals who agree to support one another both publicly and privately;  who refrain from  disparaging or undermining another group’s efforts, membership, or leadership; and who speak and act in a way that reflects unity with and support of groups within our coalition.

3. We Commit to Civility. We embrace kindness, respect, compassion, the equitable treatment of all human beings, and the empowerment of every individual working alongside us in our mission.

4. We Respect Each Other’s Privacy. We do not share personal information about other participants without their consent. This includes posting photos of events on social media without consent of everyone identifiable in the photos, providing names of participants, or their contact info.

5. We are Courteous to Staff of Elected Officials.  Our elected officials’ staff are doing their jobs and do not make decisions on their employers’ actions or positions. We understand all staff members’ are tasked with representing and stating the views of the elected officials whose offices they work in. When communicating with elected officials’ staff, we remain courteous and respectful even when their responses are not what we would prefer.