OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Concerns over suggested cuts in Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed budget were aired by area residents at a public informational session Thursday night.

State Senate Democratic Leader Barry Hobbins, D-Saco, gave an overview of LePage’s proposed state budget for the next two years and answered questions about the budget, during a meeting at Old Orchard Beach High School. Hobbins will also hold another question and answer session on Saturday at Thornton Academy, Room 55 from 10 a.m. to noon and hopes to hold another session in the Buxton/Dayton area in the future.

The governor proposes to spend $6.1 billion over the next two years. The budget is about 8 percent higher than the last biennial budget, according to Hobbins.

“We have a significant problem in the state of Maine,” said Hobbins, in that the income does not match the demand for services. Any governor going into this budget would have to deal with this challenge, he said.

The budget proposes $524 million of cuts to state employees and teachers, including a reduction in pension benefits for both parties. As well, state employees would see health insurance benefits reduced and their merit increases and longevity pay would be eliminated.

The budget also proposes to reduce the Circuit Breaker Property Tax Relief Fund Program by 20 percent and the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement Program by 10 percent. Public assistance would be cut by $51 million.

For a few of the nearly two dozen participants in the meeting Thursday, emotions ran high as proposed cuts were discussed.

Old Orchard Beach resident Cheryl Gendell said the governor, in his proposed budget, was using poor people and state employees as “a whipping boy.”

Biddeford resident Charlene Aubert said one major problem leading to the state deficit was that people were not buying as much, and there was less excise tax revenue.

“Who’s going to pay for the deficit? It’s going to be the people, as opposed to businesses,” she said.

Aubert asked if the Democrats could work with Republicans to address concerns with the budget, and Hobbins later said that he hoped the two parties would work together.

“I’m hoping it will be a bi-partisan budget where we will weigh all of the programs and try to figure out whether or not there are any alternatives to those kinds of cuts,” said Hobbins.

Old Orchard Beach resident Jerome Begert said he hoped the budget would be reviewed to point out where both parties “are exaggerating” and where “the math doesn’t add up.”

Hobbins said he has urged the Maine Educational Association and State employees to hire actuaries to make sure the figures add up.

LePage, in a budget testimony early this month, stated that reform needed to be made for teacher and state pensions or it will someday consume one in every four dollars of the state general fund revenue.

“If we let the problem get to this point, Maine’s defined pension benefit program will cease to exist and our promises to retirees will go unmet,” said LePage.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.