The Omaha City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to keep diversity, equity and inclusion language in its 2026 budget, rejecting a resolution that sought to remove the references amid concerns about potential federal funding cuts under the Trump administration.
Council member LaVonya Goodwin said she understood concerns about federal funding but opposed what she viewed as an attack on diversity.
"I absolutely care about federal funding coming to the city. However, I would be remiss if I did not express my concern and the concern of many of the constituents in my district that this appears to be an attack on diversity. Not necessarily from this council, but at a higher level," Goodwin said.
Council members Brinker Harding, and Melton co-sponsored the resolution seeking to remove DEI language from pages 3 and 181 in the 2026 budget. They suggested that keeping the language could jeopardize millions in federal dollars following a White House executive order.
"There was an executive order from the White House that it's in jeopardy if you have DEI or DEI programs within your organization, in this case, the city that you could lose federal funding," Harding said.
Melton emphasized the city's dependence on federal funding for critical infrastructure and housing programs.
"We can't fund our road projects without the federal funds. In addition, we have CDBG funds, affordable housing funds — all of those funds come from the federal government," Melton said.
More than a dozen community members spoke during public testimony opposing the resolution. Melissa Polendo, who received a diversity scholarship that helped her obtain her real estate license, said the issue is personal.
"They have to still remember that they have people in their areas that don't look like them and so including diversity and inclusion going forward and keeping it is really important, just because we want to make sure that our children have opportunities," Pollendo said.
After more than 30 minutes of testimony, the council voted down the resolution 4-3.
Polendo and fellow opponent Alexander Liu said they felt validated by the community turnout and council decision.
"I wish I could shake everybody's hand," Pollendo said.
"I'm not fully relaxing, you know, if that makes sense. I'm glad that it did go through," Liu said.
Community members who opposed removing the DEI language said they believe the decision will prevent negative ripple effects in the future and expressed gratitude that their voices were heard.
"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."
