The City Commission approved two contracts Wednesday for the next round of testing for potential police recruits to “reconstruct” the Police Department’s ranks following a four-year no-hire period as the city worked its way through a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit.

“I said it would be two years of deconstruction and two years of reconstruction. We are starting the reconstruction,” Police Chief Richard Biehl said following the commission meeting.

The first Civil Service Board contract — for $64,260 through 2013 — went to Trent Grooms for the recruiting and retention of candidates. The second — for $50,000 — went to the Yusko Group for consulting and technical services for the testing. According to the contract’s timeline, the police recruit test will happen May 18, 2013.

Maurice Evans, Civil Service Board secretary and chief examiner, said Grooms “will be focusing on recruiting women and minority candidates” for the police test. Under questioning by Commissioner Nan Whaley, Evans said he did not look at any other consulting firms. “We’ve worked with him before recruiting minority candidates for the Fire Department.”

After the meeting, Evans told a reporter that Trent Grooms is a distant relative of Talbert Grooms, Civil Service Board chairman. “They have told me they have never even met,” he said.

Evans said Virginia-based Yusko has worked with the fire department and the Justice Department.

The Justice Department filed suit against the city in 2008, alleging the city had engaged “in discriminatory employment practices against African Americans” in its written test for firefighter and police recruits. The city has spent nearly $500,000 to comply with the consent decree and produce a new test for police recruits, administered last year. The first new officers graduated from the Police Academy in August. The 22 new officers joined the 321 sworn officers — down nearly 100 since 2008. The department’s next class of 24 recruits who took last year’s test will enter the academy Oct. 15, Biehl said.

In other business, the commissioners also approved a $2.49 million contract for the replacement of the Broadway Bridge over Wolf Creek, using state and federal money.