Hood River County’s proposed five-year local option levy for public safety is on the May 19 ballot.  The levy would be for 78-cents-per-thousand dollars of assessed property value, and it comes after two money measures to deal with the County’s budget problems failed last spring.  County Commissioner Les Perkins acknowledges the timing of the measure with the COVID-19 pandemic is not good, but the Commission felt it had to move forward with the levy.  While the funds from the levy will be dedicated to public safety uses, County officials say other services would receive more stable and dependable funding to maintain current service levels.