Walla Walla’s first responders will soon see a baby boomer bust. The pending departures are due to an aging population of police officers and firefighters who are nearing retirement. Each department has 47 employees and early retirement age for 20 years of service is 53, according to officials in both departments. The police department has 17 people age 50 or older; the fire department has eight. The increasing age of department employees generally comes with higher salaries and medical costs, Walla Walla City Manager Nabiel Shawa said. But losing them also means the potential loss of learned wisdom and institutional knowledge. “We have the baby boomer effect in Walla Walla,” Shawa said. “So they are at the top of their pay scales for their time in service.”