The Tobacco Policy Task Force plans to decrease its $125,000 budget in the years following the implementation of the tobacco ban, according to Dean of Students Jeffrey Waple.

Waple said the task force’s budget will shrink for the next three to four years as one-time expenses, such as signage, become less needed. He said that recurring expenses, like the nicotine replacement therapy products offered through NKU’s QUIT line, will continue to stay around its requested $22,000 budget.

The new tobacco policy is costing the university $125,000 its first year. This amount is split between signage, marketing and communication, QUIT line and cessation products, compliance, employee training and a small “rainy day” contingency fund.

The $80,000 that goes to signage, marketing and communication is shared between the facilities, boundaries, and signage subcommittee, which is responsible for signs and removing tobacco related litter, and the marketing and communications subcommittee, which is responsible for developing tobacco policies, according to Waple.

“A large part of what we need to do is market,” Waple said.

Waple said that one of the marketing plans is to pass out information about the tobacco policy to smokers sometime in November.

Ray Mirizzi, the director of facilities management and one of the chairs of the facilities, boundaries and signage subcommittee, said his subcommittee is currently spending less than their projected amount.

According to Mirizzi, his subcommittee requested $4,375 for vinyl wraps on elevator doors; $22,500 for banners, hardware and installation; $6,500 for vinyl covers for existing signs and garage arms and $1,000 on vinyl decals for glass doors. However, Mirizzi said the actual costs of these items have been less than the subcommittee planned for.

According to Waple, the original asking budget was approximately $245,000. This budget plan included a staff devoted entirely to the policy task force.

“We asked people what it would cost, and at one point, part of the compliance recommendation was to hire staff,” Waple said. According to Waple, hiring a full-time staff would have used up the entire $125,000 that the task force was given.