We had something similar at 'my house' a few years before I retired. The ATIS was calling for freezing rain in a special but the wx had moved on. The local tower had just not changed the special and so when guys were taxiing out and NOT deicing, the FAA got involved. This lead to the old axiom, "For every action there is an unequal and opposite over-reaction." EVERYONE began getting deiced if there was so much as a hint of snow/ice.
Finally reason prevailed (albeit taking a bit of time) and we had the de-ice pad set up to check the surfaces. With their booms, they could actually check the surfaces and see if it was coated, adhering or just dry powder on the wings.
Unfortunately, this seems like one of those events where one guy is saying "NEVER" and the other is 'ALWAYS' and both are probably just dancing to the pipes of a higher piper's tune.