Governors’ lead on efficiency

Gov. Sarah Sanders is the latest Arkansas governor to lead on efficiency, which is the idea that services can be provided to the people in a more cost-effective manner.

Support for efficiency has been bipartisan, with governors of both major political parties playing leadership roles in the post-war era.

Reforms under Republican Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller (1967-1971) included administrative consolidation. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas notes much of Rockefeller’s agenda was adopted by Democrat Gov. Dale Bumpers (1971-75). Gov. Bumpers called for state agencies consolidation in his inaugural address, noting it would “give us more efficiency, more effectiveness, eliminate some duplication, achieve better coordination, effect some economics and give the governor’s office a much clearer view of all functions of state government.” Public Act 38 (1971) reorganized 60 state agencies into 13 cabinet-level departments.

Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson (2015-23) oversaw another reorganization from 42 to 15 state departments in 2019. It occurred after a multi-year review that began with Hutchinson observing, “The citizens of Arkansas deserve a critical evaluation of their state government to ensure the cost-effective delivery of services and to ensure that state employees have every possible means necessary to maximize their effectiveness.”

One overlooked dimension of efficiency is citizen involvement to make state government more efficient. Democrat Gov. Mike Beebe (2007-15) signed the Arkansas Financial Transparency Act (PA 303 of 2011) creating an online database of state expenditures.

The site explains, “Transparency.Arkansas.gov is a resource for citizens, legislators, news media, scholars, and nonprofit groups who want to know where the state, their city, town, and school district get their money, and how they spend it.” The act noted, “Information technology has evolved to allow unprecedented levels of accessibility to financial information; and access to expenditures on an ongoing and regular basis will assist citizens” and legislators.

Republican Sanders’ Arkansas Forward project is broad in scope. Last year, it released a report describing more than 300 initiatives across all 15 departments “that have the potential to return $300 million in cost-savings and cost-avoidance to the people of Arkansas over the next six years.” The report focused on five areas: information technology, procurement, fleet, personnel, and real estate. The 956-page report was written by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

The report provides organizational charts, key initiatives, processes, performance metrics, and potential savings for all 15 departments. There are strategies to address potential risks and enable success, and steps for expanded talent targeting and career development. The lengthiest section for an agency, at 125 pages, describes the state Department of Transformation and Shared Services. The section for the state Department of Human Services is 100 pages in length.

An 18-page “All Initiatives Master Tracker” includes initiative names, descriptions and priority status. Examples are “ongoing,” “high,” or “lower.” The tracker also includes metrics for assessing positive citizen and state employee impact, along with efficiency initiative timelines.

The Arkansas Forward Report is a good starting point for citizens interested in ongoing initiatives to make state government more efficient.

Editor’s note: Greg Kaza is executive director of the Arkansas Policy Foundation, a market-based think tank founded in Little Rock in 1995. The opinions expressed are those of the author.