Savings tracker
This page shows the Arkansas Forward financial picture in three layers: the projected $300M six-year impact baked into the strategic plan, the implementation milestones already delivered, and the initiative-level dollar receipts as the state publishes them.
Projected savings / cost avoidance
$300.0M
Over 6 years — Arkansas Forward target
Delivered milestones
12
Policies, plans, executive orders, and reports delivered
Initiative-level savings receipts
Forthcoming
Initiative-level savings are tracked inside the Arkansas Forward strategic plan and will be reflected here as the administration publishes audited figures.
How to read this page
Projected savings are the targets the Arkansas Forward strategic plan set out across the five pillars. Delivered milestones are public, dated actions — like Act 499 (the $102M pay plan), EO 25-10 (IT modernization), the AI CoE reports, and the February 2026 permitting EO — that move those targets forward. Initiative-level savings receipts will be added here as the administration publishes them.
Projected savings by initiative
Aggregate of projected savings ranges from the Arkansas Forward report and related announcements. Mix of six-year and annual figures — see the unit column.
| Initiative | Pillar | Status | Projected savings | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300M / 6-year cost savings and avoidance target | Cross-cutting | Projected | $300.0M over 6 yrs | 6yr |
| Centralize IT administration and consolidate duplicative systems | Information Technology | In Progress | $65.0M–$130.0M over 6 yrs | 6yr |
| Statewide eProcurement (ARBuy on SAP Ariba) and contract renegotiation | Procurement | Planned | $140.0M–$230.0M over 6 yrs | 6yr |
| Right-size and modernize the state vehicle fleet | Fleet | Planned | $3.0M–$5.0M / year | annual |
| Consolidate state real estate footprint | Real Estate | Planned | $15.0M–$25.0M over 6 yrs | 6yr |
| State employee pay plan overhaul | Personnel | Delivered Milestone | $102.0M / year | annual |
| Total (sum of stated ranges) | $625.0M–$792.0M | Mixed: 6-yr and annual |
Note: rows mix six-year and annualized projections; this is a floor/ceiling of stated ranges, not a single comparable scalar. The Arkansas Forward report's topline is the cleaner number to cite: ~$300M over 6 years.
Documented implementation milestones
Specific Arkansas Forward-linked policies, plans, executive orders, and reports that have been publicly delivered.
- 2024-06-26Delivered MilestoneCross-cuttingAI Working Group launchedGovernor Sanders launched the working group that became the AI and Analytics Center of Excellence — the foundation for Arkansas's statewide AI strategy.
- 2024-11-12Delivered MilestonePersonnelNew State Employee Pay Plan announced$102M-per-year pay plan overhaul announced: raises pay an average of 9.8% for 14,539 employees (roughly two-thirds of the cabinet workforce), brings salaries to private-sector labor-market rates, consolidates roughly 2,200 job titles to about 800, and introduces six skill-based pay tables. Funded ~$60M from General Revenue with the balance from salary savings and set-aside funds; no positions eliminated.
- 2024-12-16Delivered MilestoneCross-cuttingArkansas Forward progress report deliveredGovernor Sanders received the Arkansas Forward progress report: a 956-page strategic plan with more than 300 initiatives across all 15 cabinet departments and a $300M six-year cost-savings and cost-avoidance target across five focus areas.Sanders Receives Arkansas Forward Progress Report — Governor of Arkansas, Dec 16, 2024Arkansas Forward Progress Report (PDF) — Governor of Arkansas, Dec 15, 2024State proposes $300M in cuts to Arkansas executive branch agencies over next 6 years — Arkansas SAS / Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Dec 16, 2024Report: State could save $300 million over six years — Talk Business & Politics, Dec 16, 2024The Sanders Administration & Human Services Efficiency — Arkansas Policy Foundation, Sep 1, 2025
- 2025-03-31Delivered MilestonePersonnelAct 499 codifies the pay planThe General Assembly enacted SB 392 as Act 499 of 2025, codifying the Arkansas Forward pay plan into Arkansas law. The act provides the statutory foundation for the new statewide classification and compensation system effective July 1, 2025.
- 2025-04-07Delivered MilestoneCross-cuttingAI Center of Excellence initial report deliveredThe AI and Analytics Center of Excellence delivered its initial recommendations report on policies and programs to adopt artificial intelligence across Arkansas state government.
- 2025-06-09Delivered MilestonePersonnelPerformance-based merit raises announcedSanders authorized merit raises tied to annual performance evaluations: 1% base salary increase for employees who met expectations and 3% for those who exceeded expectations — extending the Arkansas Forward pay-for-performance framework.
- 2025-06-11Delivered MilestoneInformation TechnologyEO 25-10 signed: IT modernization, security, oversightExecutive Order centralizing statewide IT administration, establishing the centralized IT Governance Team, requiring a comprehensive IT assessment, ordering a statewide IT consolidation plan, and creating a centralized cybersecurity office to close Arkansas's cyber-spending gap with peer states.
- 2025-07-01Delivered MilestonePersonnelNew pay plan takes effectAct 499 of 2025 takes effect on July 1, 2025. The new classification and compensation system is operationalized statewide through SAS's FY26 Pay Plan, with detailed pay tables, job families, and grade/class codes published for every executive-branch role.
- 2025-08-28Delivered MilestonePersonnelReturn-to-office and flexible work policies announcedArkansas Forward-linked return-to-office and flexible/alternative work schedule policy announced, effective Oct. 1, 2025 — extending office hours to 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, offering 9/80 and 4/10 schedules, and expanding the Infant at Work policy statewide.
- 2026-02-13Delivered MilestoneCross-cuttingAI Center of Excellence Effectiveness and Safety report deliveredTwo-part AI CoE report on Government Effectiveness (productivity tools, agency modernization, Medicaid/SNAP program integrity, AI-enabled Government Services Portal) and Safety, Security & Trust (Chief AI Officer, NIST-aligned evaluation framework, data infrastructure, transparency, AI literacy).
- 2026-03-04Delivered MilestoneCross-cuttingBalanced budget letter to Arkansas LegislatureSanders' balanced budget letter outlines priorities for the 2026 Fiscal Session and integrates Arkansas Forward outputs into Executive Recommendations — weaving the efficiency agenda directly into budget development.
- 2026-04-08Delivered MilestoneCross-cutting2026 State of the State addressState of the State delivered at the opening of the 95th General Assembly Fiscal Session, restating Arkansas Forward priorities and the broader efficiency agenda.