Nearly eight years after the City of Bowling Green created the Workforce Recruitment and Outreach Committee to increase diversity within the city police department, commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday a first reading that would dissolve the committee, replacing it with a “roundtable.”

Mayor Todd Alcott presented the item to commissioners. He said while the committee’s goal was to increase diversity for the city, the board has recently been “spinning its wheels.”

“I don’t lightly recommend a board to dissolve unless I have invested the time and the energy into understanding if that board is effective,” Alcott said. “… They were getting information but not really able to take that information and do anything with it.”

The board was created after the Bowling Green Police Department came under the scrutiny in 2015 by the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ found that the department’s number of Black employees was “significantly lower than would be expected given the relevant demographics.”

Bowling Green’s Black population was around 14% at the time of the investigation. At that time, the police department’s force was about 5% Black.

Though the investigation wrapped up in 2016 without any action, the committee stuck around, sitting in on interviews and making recommendations on the city’s recruitment process.

An analysis of the committee’s work was performed this year by consultant Terry Daniels of Focal Point Coaching & Training.

Daniels states in a report that he viewed past committee meetings and that “the meetings had a lot of repeat content,” but the committee acknowledged more needed to be done.

“The meeting notes did not demonstrate progress toward the initial goals and lacked concrete initiatives to further impact the police or the City’s workforce’s diverse demographics,” Daniels’ report states.

After the analysis, the decision was made to replace the committee with a “roundtable,” which will meet twice annually.

Roundtables will allow city officials to deliver presentations detailing job openings in their departments and summaries of the meetings will be provided to all community partners, according to a city memo.

Commissioner Carlos Bailey, who has served on the committee in the past, said during the meeting that the committee had indeed “spun its wheels”

“It was a great idea when it first started,” Bailey said. “But it didn’t do exactly what it was designed to do.”

Though the committee is going away, city officials said its focus on inclusivity is not changing.

“We remain committed to fostering an environment where every voice is valued,” according to a city memo.

“By continuing to build strong, collaborative relationships across our community, we can ensure lasting impact and meaningful progress for all.”

Commissioners Tuesday also gave second and final approval to the city’s $188.7 million budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which represents a $15 million increase over FY2025 and the city’s largest budget ever.

Katie Schaller-Ward, chief financial officer for the city, told the Daily News earlier this month that no changes in taxes in the city are currently on the table.

“We don’t have any changes currently incorporated into this budget,” she said.

Commissioners will meet again July 1.