By JOSEPH B. NADEAU
 
WOONSOCKET — Fire Chief Kenneth A. Finlay may not end up with much free time when he retires from the city’s fire department after 31 years on March 28.

Finlay has been hired as the next chief of the Cumberland Hill Fire District, according to  Cumberland Hill Fire Chief Richard Susi, who is retiring at the end of the month. The district's governing board posted news of Finlay's hiring on Saturday, he said.
Finlay, a city resident, actually started his career at the Cumberland Hill Station as a volunteer after he and Susi graduated high school in the town.
Finlay went on to become a firefighter in Woonsocket and Susi stayed with the Cumberland Hill Department.
Finlay said Monday he gave thought to the Cumberland job after Susi announced his retirement and “went back and forth,” at the beginning of February as to whether he should apply.
The department had yet to become polarized over a threat of layoffs as a way to balance the city’s current budget deficit and Finlay still believed there were options for addressing the shortfall through alternative savings.
In end, Finlay said he opted to submit his resume as an option. “I put the resume in figuring the job could be rejected or accepted at a later time,” he said.
As things turned out, the city and its firefighters union ended up in Superior Court last week over the option of balancing the budget through firefighter layoffs and Finlay was among the officials taking the stand to present testimony on the city’s position.
“On Thursday evening, after the turmoil of the week, they offered me the job,” Finlay said.
With the firefighters and the city at an impasse over layoff dispute, Finlay said he decided it would be in his best interest to pursue the Cumberland Hill post.
Finlay, who earns $77,000 as the Woonsocket fire chief, notified Mayor Susan D. Menard that he will be retiring as of March 28.
The decision comes as Finlay is preparing to roll out a plan city Public Works Director Michael Annarummo to develop a new city fire department headquarters using a $15 million federal grant Woonsocket could collect from federal stimulus funding.
The idea is to relocate fire headquarters at Station 2 at 5 Cumberland Hill Road to a new one-story structure elsewhere in the city. Annarummo told members of the City Council Monday he will be holding a meeting later this week to begin work on designing the new headquarters and credited Finlay with helping to the get the project started.
 Finlay also gained accolades from members of the council for his longtime service to the community and well wishes for his new endeavors during the session.
 “Your leaving is certainly a great loss to us,” City Council President Leo T. Fontaine said while commending Finlay for his long years of service to the city. “Thank you for all that you have done,” he said.
 Mayor Menard said Monday she was aware that Finlay had an opportunity to take another job and also that the ongoing controversy had been troubling him.
 The chief will be working through March 28, she noted. “I will appoint an interim chief and begin a search at that time,” Menard said.
 Finlay has been working on several other capital improvement programs for the department including a $114,000 equipment upgrade for firefighters using another federal grant. He also hopes to begin needed renovations at Fairmount Street Station this year with a $42,000 Community Development Block Grant.
  While he does have misgivings about leaving, Finlay said it is most certain that he will retire as planned. “I have very capable people in the department to see this through,” he said of the up coming work Monday night.
“It’s my time to go,” he said.
With reports by Russ Olivo