BANGOR – Community leaders and legislators came together Saturday to mull over a few of the big issues facing the Pine Tree State in the near future.

The budget deficit, tax reform, economic development and health care were the major topics discussed by the Hot Stove League, a decade-old discussion group sponsored by the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce.

The league meets three or four times a year when Legislature is in session, according to Arthur Comstock, who acts as moderator at the two-hour-long meetings. Saturday’s session drew a half dozen legislators, a representative for U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, members of the Bangor City Council, business owners, representatives from local hospitals and other nonprofit organizations.

“This keeps us grounded as to what’s going on back home and what’s important,” said state Sen. W. Tom Sawyer Jr., R-Bangor, explaining why he regularly attends the meetings.

The cost of health care and its effect on the budget deficit dominated the discussion. Legislators agreed that despite relatively good revenue projections, the cost of Medicaid and lowered reimbursement rates from the federal government account for the largest portion of the deficit, which is projected between $126 million and $140 million.

“This program is cannibalizing the state budget,” state Rep. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, said. “It is at an unsustainable rate of growth. We have to redesign the system, but that will take some political willpower.”

Harrison Clark, a Bangor business owner, said that with 25 percent of the state’s population now covered by the program, it was time to start restraining its growth. Clark and others suggested that changing the eligibility guidelines could not be avoided.

But state Sen. Mary Cathcart, D-Orono, said that neither the administration nor the Democrats, who control both the Senate and the House of Representatives, wanted to reduce eligibility this session.

Bob Guerette, a Bangor businessman, urged legislators to look at the long-term rather than just the next biennial budget. He said that more needed to be done to promote healthful lifestyles and reduce smoking and obesity in the population to reduce future health care costs.

Many at the meeting expressed concern over the upcoming tax reform referenda. One proposal would institute a tax cap, the other would require the Legislature to fund 45 percent of the cost of education.

“Before we can have tax reform, we have to have spending reform,” said state Rep. Russell Treadwell, R-Carmel.

Ray Bradford, a Bangor lawyer and Chamber member, said that when talking about tax reform, budget cuts or other changes, government needed to present plans more positively to taxpayers.

“We need to put the state on a low-carb budget,” he said. “I think that over time being positive rather than negative will get us where we need to go.”

While Bangor City Manager Ed Barrett and Bangor City Councilors Geoffrey Gratwick and Gerry Palmer attended the meeting, no state representatives from the city attended. Comstock said that except for Sawyer, the current Bangor delegation has not attended the sessions.

“They would gain a lot from these meetings,” said Comstock.