ORONO – Cut taxes. Improve jobs. Promote the University of Maine.

Those were some ideas offered Saturday by people 20 to 34 on how to keep more young people in Maine.

About 200 young adults took part in the Realize Maine Summit on Youth Migration at the University of Maine. Another 100 offered suggestions online. Saturday’s summit was called by Gov. John Baldacci, who’s concerned that Maine’s demographics are changing with the aging of the state and too many young adults leaving. He wants more young people to stay, come home or move to the state.

The daylong summit “had a lot of energy, excitement,” Baldacci said afterwards. The governor said he came away with a personal commitment to improve how the state gives all kinds of information to the public.

After listening to several discussions, Baldacci noticed suggestions “to make more sense of government, of government being more user-friendly. We need to do a better job making connections,” he said. “Even though we think we’re doing it with our Web page and many services online, we still have more work to do.”

Young adults said they want easier access to information on higher education opportunities and on transportation, such as more and better signs on roads and on hiking and biking trails. “They want to make investments in art,” Baldacci said, adding he spoke to one young writer who’s developing an IT company and looking to expand it.

Participants asked if the state could forgive some college loans if they stayed in Maine. There are loan-forgiveness programs now for some teachers, “but they’re talking about expanding that to more professions,” Baldacci said, adding he would explore the question.

Other ideas offered online recommended the state:

• Do a better job informing high school students about the University of Maine and other Maine college choices, and tell them about job opportunities.

• Sell Maine as more than vacationland. When people ask about tourism information, give them information on business opportunities, as well. “Most people I talk to out here view Maine as only a vacation spot,” wrote one former Mainer now in Michigan. “They often ask is there any industry in Maine and are surprised when I list some companies.”

• Attract new businesses and expand current ones. “If I could find a job in Maine, I’d return,” said the Michigan woman. She and others agreed that job options are limited and the starting pay is low compared to other states.

• Preserve Maine’s character so it doesn’t become a big suburb of Boston.

• Cut taxes. “Maine bluntly is a backwoods state if you are on the outside looking in,” said one man. “I know this is untrue, but my friends in Chicago used to tease me constantly when they found out” he was from Maine. Taxes are a top issue, he said.

• Offer more culture, such as theaters that show independent and foreign movies.

Before Traverse Fournier, 28, who lives in Auburn and works for Northeast Bank, graduated from the University of Maine, he attended Arizona State University. He wanted to see what was out in that part of the country. But he began to miss his family and soon returned to Maine.

After transferring to the University of Maine, Fournier said he was surprised at the quality of the in-state education. When he was at Edward Little High School, “I didn’t get a lot of education on the University of Maine. There should be more education on our educational system, what Maine has to offer.”

And as a commercial lender, Fournier said Maine should ease taxes on businesses. “There’s a lot Maine has to offer companies, but taxes keep a lot away.”

The ideas offered Saturday will be compiled into a report, Baldacci said. He plans to establish a youth task force to follow the suggestions, some of which he said could end up as legislation next year, while others will be given to high schools and communities. The Web site, www.realizemaine.org, will remain active to collect more suggestions, Baldacci said.

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