By the end of September, Langley’s four-officer police force will be down to just two.

For the first time since it reached its current size in the mid 1990s, the Langley Police Department is losing two officers within the same month. Leaving are Officer Laura Price, who after two years with the department has been hired as an Island County Sheriff’s Deputy; and Officer Ryan Raulerson. Raulerson will begin working as a police officer in the city of Issaquah at the end of September, ending a 10-year run with the Langley department. Price leaves for her new job at the start of September.

With the resignations, Langley is now looking at up to eight months of operating with just two officers and with an $84,000 expense — the cost of paying and training two new officers even before they can start working on their own. Langley Police Chief Bob Herzberg, who was the lone Langley officer when he was hired by the city in 1978, said it will be a bit of a hard go until he can bring two new officers onto his small force. He said he hadn’t imagined that both Price and Raulerson might leave within the same month.

“It was kind of a shock to have both go out at the same time,” he said. “One person is enough of an impact.”

The last time Langley had just two officers on duty — in the early 1980s — the police department responded to about 400 calls per year. For the past four years, according to statistics kept by the department, officers handle about 1,300 calls annually.

Until the department has a full compliment of officers, Herzberg and his remaining officer, Leif Haugen, will “work a lot of hours.” They will get some relief from reserve officers, though not enough to make up for the loss of two full-time officers.

Talking about her decision to sign on with the sheriff’s office, Officer Price said the deputy opening was something she had to pursue. A reserve with the sheriff’s office prior to being hired by Langley, Price said leaving her current department for what she described as a “dream job” will nonetheless be difficult.

“It was a very hard decision,” she said. “Those four guys I work with are incredible people.”

Raulerson also said he is taking a job with a promising future. Issaquah is currently home to about 15,000 people and is likely to grow, he said. With a police department that has a number of command-level officers nearing retirement, Raulerson said there are opportunities for advancement.

Still, leaving Langley is difficult.

“It had to be the best opportunity for my career and family life,” he said.

Herzberg said in losing Price and Raulerson, his department will be short not just officers to put on the street, but people with unique skills. He praised Price for her ability to work with the public and Raulerson for his deep knowledge of the community and ability to keep the department’s records and reporting up to date.

Even after Langley hires new officers and gets them on duty, there is no guarantee that it will be able to keep them. Because Langley has a small department, it tends to attract rookie officers. Herzberg said those rookies get their training in Langley, at the city’s expense, and then typically move onto a larger department after they complete the two years of experience needed to go elsewhere.

While his department has been largely stable during the past decade, Herzberg said there is little he can do to keep any new officer longer than two years. At the moment, Langley pays officers approximately the same wages offered by the Island County Sheriff’s Office — about $3,100 per month — but is unable to match those paid by larger departments on the mainland. The lure of higher pay — as well as more action and promotional opportunities — is difficult to counter, Herzberg said said.

In a best-case scenario, Langley could have a new officer on the beat within six weeks of closing its advertising period for new officers on Sept. 19. If an officer who has already attended a police academy and who has two years of experience applies and is hired, he or she would need only go through an orientation period before beginning to take full shifts.