County Council candidates differ at forum on how to fund transportation projects

Frederick County Council candidates on Thursday generally agreed that the county should expand trail systems and improve road safety for bikers and pedestrians, but they were split about how to pay for the measures. “We have a lot of yeses here tonight,” said Brad Young, a Democrat and one of four candidates running for the council’s two at-large seats. “But when push comes to shove to fund that yes, you have to have the money. And we have a lot of candidates that are running that are proposing that we freeze our tax rate.” One of those candidates is Tony Chmelik, a Republican also running in the at-large race in the Nov. 8 general election.