Troy Lestina
Troy Lestina plays a key role in shaping the City of Mansfield’s long-term growth strategy, financial stewardship, and organizational direction. Over nearly two decades of service, he has progressed from assistant finance director to CFO and deputy city manager, helping maintain the city’s strong financial position while supporting the community’s continued expansion. His leadership is grounded in thoughtful planning, accountability and a belief that lasting public value is created through collaboration and disciplined execution.
The Cornerstones of Professional Credibility
Credibility in public finance does not come from a title or a credential. It comes from a sustained commitment to understanding your field, your organization, and the people who depend on both. That commitment never ends. My city manager often says, “Leaders are learners.” That is extremely true, especially at moments when experience alone is not enough.
Early in my career, I worked on a four-person team managing annual financial statements and preparing audits. I underestimated the diligence the work required. We missed several initial deadlines, jeopardizing statutory filing requirements and demanding a significant extra effort to recover. That experience changed how I think about execution. Missed milestones do not stay contained. They ripple outward, creating pressure across the entire organization. Since then, disciplined deadline management has been a core part of how I operate.
Growth matters, but humility matters more. Leaders who welcome feedback, acknowledge when they are wrong, and value other perspectives build strong teams. When a commitment cannot be met, transparent communication and revised expectations maintain trust better than silence. Long-term credibility rests on continuous learning, humility, and honoring your word.
Turning Priorities into Direction
Balancing fiscal discipline with community expectations starts long before the budget is finalized. Each year, the executive leadership team and the city council participate in a strategic visioning workshop to establish the priorities that guide Mansfield’s direction. Those priorities become the framework for our annual budgeting process and help preserve the city’s exceptional bond rating.
What makes this process work is the depth of experience across our organization. Talented professionals bring different perspectives and hard-earned lessons to each discussion. Strategy is built through open dialogue and the collective expertise of staff, management, and council. That collaboration surfaces practical, tested approaches aligned with real community needs.
Each year, our city manager, executive leadership team and city council participate in a strategic visioning workshop to establish the priorities that guide Mansfield’s direction. Those priorities become the framework for our annual budgeting process and help preserve the city’s exceptional bond rating.
We work closely with departments to align their objectives with at least one of five core priorities: developing a strong economy, providing a safe community, improving citywide mobility, building strong neighborhoods, and focusing on the future. This creates consistency between long-term vision and daily decision-making throughout the organization.
Community feedback sharpens that direction. Through biennial citizen satisfaction surveys, residents tell us what they value most. Those insights validate our direction and inform future decisions. Not every strategy works as intended. When that happens, we listen, reassess and refine. The focus stays on solutions.
Measuring What Actually Matters
For performance management to be effective, staff need to see how their daily work connects to the city’s long-term priorities. When that link is clear, people work with greater purpose and ownership. We use the Envisio performance dashboard to translate our five focus areas into measurable departmental tasks. Departments provide regular updates visible to both the city council and residents. Another example is our Engineering Department’s public-facing dashboard tracking development activity and traffic impacts across the city.
Most performance systems fail for one of two reasons. They measure outputs instead of outcomes or they lose staff buy-in. Both are equally costly. Outputs tell you what was done. Outcomes tell you whether it mattered. Public transparency adds another layer of accountability, benefiting both staff and leadership. When residents can see results, the conversation around performance becomes more honest. When staff understand why the metrics exist, they use them well. These platforms strengthen accountability, support sound decision-making, and improve communication inside and outside the organization.
Aligning Resources with Results
A strong financial foundation is built in layers and sustaining it requires as much discipline as creating it. Mansfield’s groundwork traces back to Tommie Johnson, the first finance director here to earn the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award in 1986. We have continued building on that legacy through a 10-year strategic plan, reserves that exceed our 25-percent fund balance policy, and working closely with financial advisors to manage debt obligations. Proactive forecasting, transparent leadership conversations, and innovative service delivery have helped us maintain a AAA bond rating. That rating reflects decades of consistent discipline, not a single good year. It signals confidence to potential investors and development partners.
Sound financial management should create real opportunity for the community and that only happens when intent is matched with measurement. We support that through local vendor fairs, procurement education, and participation in business expos that connect residents and businesses to upcoming developments. In my experience, cities fall short not in intent but in measuring outcomes. Good initiatives lose momentum without clear milestones and accountability. Tracking results ensures these efforts continue to deliver meaningful value.
Preserving Assets Before Expanding Ambitions
Municipalities must preserve what already exists before chasing new projects. Streets, water lines, sewer systems, and public facilities all have a finite useful life. Deferred maintenance creates far larger capital costs down the road. Thoughtful planning at the outset of a project, combined with routine maintenance, maximizes asset life and protects public investment. Infrastructure decisions made today shape budgets for decades. For CFOs and deputy managers, communicating that value to leadership and the community is an important part of the role. The next exciting project is always easier to sell than the case for maintaining what is already there.
Mansfield still has approximately 20 percent of undeveloped land within its boundaries. That creates a meaningful opportunity to be intentional about future growth. Our management team and city council work together to attract high-quality residential, mixed-use, commercial, and industrial development that enhances the community and builds long-term value for residents.
That kind of intentionality requires a commitment to getting the fundamentals right. Governance only works when people trust the process. Finance only performs when leaders follow through. Plans only succeed when teams are bought in and metrics reflect what genuinely matters. Public service at its best is not reactive. It is deliberate and each part reinforces the rest.
