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Oconee County Council advances ordinance banning use of county funds for DEI initiatives after heated public comment
Summary
After nearly two hours of public comment both for and against, Oconee County Council moved forward on Ordinance 20-25-05 to prohibit county funds for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; the council approved the measure on first reading by voice vote.
Oconee County Council on Jan. 31 advanced Ordinance 20-25-05, a measure that would prohibit the use of county funds for programs described by the ordinance as “diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.” The motion to advance the ordinance was moved and seconded and approved by the council after public comment that ran through a large portion of the meeting.
The ordinance text presented to the council defines DEI initiatives as “any program, training, policy, or activity that promotes differential treatment, preferences, or quotas based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identification, and seeks to advance concepts of equity that promote equality of outcomes rather than equality of opportunity.” The ordinance states it applies to county government operations and not private businesses.
Public comment on the ordinance produced extensive, sharply divided testimony. Dexter Robinson, representing the Oconee County Branch NAACP, urged rejection, saying the draft “does not correctly represent the definition or the purpose of diversity, equity, and inclusion” and asked council members to “reject it in favor of policies that truly support fairness, opportunity, and inclusion for all.”
Several speakers opposed the ordinance on grounds that it would harm trust, community safety and county services; Vicky Allen told the council the county’s DEI initiative “has sadly never been funded” and asked the council not to pass the first reading. Jody Gollin said the proposal was “politics of distraction” and urged the council to focus on public safety, infrastructure and economic development.
Other speakers supported the ordinance as a protection of merit-based hiring and a restraint on “ideological” programs. Dave Nicks, board chairman of Oconee County Conservatives, told the council that “approximately 75% of the people who cast votes in this county voted for Donald Trump” in 2024 and urged the council to align county policy accordingly. A number of commenters framed DEI as an ideological or political program rather than a neutral personnel policy.
Council discussion included repeated references to equal‑opportunity and existing civil‑rights protections. At the dais, a council member said, “for the last 6 years, I’ve been on council … We have hired best based on qualifications and promoted based on merits regardless of race or gender,” and recorded that they would vote yes to maintain merit‑based hiring.
The council then made and seconded a motion to advance Ordinance 20-25-05. A roll call tally was not read into the record; the chair called for those in favor, and the motion was recorded as approved on the first reading by voice vote. The ordinance language and council comments specify the restriction applies to county government spending and personnel processes; the ordinance does not address private employers or non‑county entities.
The ordinance will return for subsequent readings per the council’s ordinance procedures; the council did not attach a budgetary appropriation to the measure at this meeting.
