“Just two months after he asked the Langley City Council for wage increases designed to keep officers in the city long term, Police Chief Bob Herzberg is looking for a new officer.On Nov. 28, seven-year department veteran Chris White resigned from the department for personal reasons, leaving a hole in the department that could take up to a year to fill. Herzberg said losing such an experienced officer will make the transition doubly difficult.She was dedicated and effective with young people, Herzberg said of White. We’re going to miss her.In early November, Herzberg sought to avoid the loss of any of his three officers, all of whom have served in the department for at least five years. He asked the Langley City Council to raise officer pay to a level comparable with the Island County Sheriff’s Department. In his argument for the pay boost, Herzberg told the council that it would take up 12 months to fully train a rookie officer.He won the raises, but now the department must go through the hiring and training process anyway. The city started taking applications for the position Tuesday and will continue to do so until Feb. 23. If the new hire is a rookie with just some reserve experience in his or her background, Herzberg said the new officer must go through two months of testing, then spend six months at the police academy. After the officer finishes the academy, he or she will need to pair up with another Langley officer for two months of field training.It will be this time next year before we see this person in the car working by themselves, Herzberg said.In all, Herzberg said his department will have to sink more than $37,000 into training, salary, and overtime for the department’s veteran officers to fill Officer White’s position. That figure could be decreased if an experienced officer who already has academy training is hired.While the department waits for the replacement, Herzberg said his officers will have to cut back on the patrol and education work they do at Langley Middle School, as well as some of the other fun stuff officers do to maintain good relations in the community.A new officer with the department will receive starting pay of $17.14 an hour. “