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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A program that was created in 2000 and has since been implemented into numerous police and sheriff branches in North Dakota has yet to be set in Stutsman County. But Nellie Degen is trying to change that.

FOP Liaison for Lodge #4, Degen’s current mission is to get local law enforcement the PERS program. According to Degen, the Public Employees Retirement System would allow law enforcement officials the ability to pay into retirement, giving them the option to retire at an earlier date.

Degen stated that the program would not cost anything for Stutsman County, but the City of Jamestown would need to budget for it.

Barnes County implemented PERS in 2003 and Degen pointed out that they have not seen any negative side effects of doing so.

Degen will be presenting her research to the Jamestown City Council this evening on PERS and the benefits of the program. She stated that the community’s support for PERS and our local law enforcement is needed.

The Fraternal Order of Police is the world’s largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers with more than 325,000 members in more than 2,100 lodges across the U.S.