The working group tasked with refining the details of the proposed non-discrimination ordinance for Augusta got advice from a former Atlanta Council President during a Sept. 9 meeting.
Cathy Woolard was elected to city council in 1997. She was elected council president 2002 and served until 2004. Woolard was the first openly gay elected official in Georgia.
MORE: Defining a Non-Discrimination Ordinance for Augusta
Woolard said she was surprised when a constituent told her Georgia was one of five states that didn’t have civil rights legislation covering employment, housing and public accommodations. Atlanta adopted an ordinance about 20 years ago. Since then, almost a dozen other Georgia cities have followed suit.
“All of the NDOs share certain things in common,” Woolard explained. “All of them prohibit discrimination in employment, public housing and public accommodations. The protected classes in all of the Georgia NDOs are all of the federal classes, plus sexual orientation and gender identity. They all have exemptions for non-commercial activities of religious organizations and non-profit private clubs.”
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Atlanta has a human relations commission, staffed by a city attorney, that handles any complaints. The other cities use different procedures to file a report including the city clerk’s office or law enforcement. All have enforcement and resolution options and mediation processes, either to Municipal Court or a hearing officer.
Woolard said some people were concerned about being flooded with frivolous complaints. Others worried it would be divisive in the community.
She said, “After 20 years experience in Atlanta, a city with half a million people and a very diverse community, we just have not seen that. In the cities that have brought forward these ordinances, I’m not aware that any of them have seen a complaint.”
Commissioner Jordan Johnson asked if, in the months immediately after the NDO was enacted, Atlanta had a high call volume with complaints. He asked if the city had to bring in extra people to handle the calls. Woolard said there were very few calls from the beginning and Atlanta now receives about half a dozen complaints a year. She said Atlanta nor any of the other cities with NDOs had to add staff.
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Instead, she said, they found it was a useful marketing tool for the city.
“Marketing the city for business attraction, for conventions, for sporting events. For example, the NCAA actually now asked the question whether there are non-discrimination protections in their bid package questionnaires,” Woolard said.
MORE: Augusta Commissioners Get First Look at Proposed Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
Commissioner Francine Scott, chairwoman of the working group, said there will be another meeting in late September 2021. A representative from one of the other cities with an NDO will share its experience.
“We got to have good information,” Scott said. “We have to have a good policy or NDO for our city. My goal is for this to be friendly to everyone.”
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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