Former Denver City resident Dustin “Blu” Kostelich has been hired as the city of Lubbock’s new chief financial officer, according to information released by the City of Lubbock on June 30.
Kostelich was hired to fill a position that’s been occupied in an interim role for the past two years. During the past election, the placement of a permanent chief financial officer was a major issue for Mayor Dan Pope along with a few of the new City Council members.
City Manager Jarrett Atkinson said he was very pleased to have Blu come on board. He noted that Blu had gone through a very extensive and competitive process where he successfully demonstrated his finance and communication skills. Atkinson was also impressed with Blu’s desire to make the move to Lubbock.
Kostelich has been working as the director of finance for the city of Bridgeport, a city just northwest of Fort Worth. He’s a 2001 graduate of Denver City high school and a 2006 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.
During his five years of serving the United States Army, Kostelich earned two Commendation Medals and a Bronze Star while he was deployed in Iraq for 13 months.
After leaving the Army, he earned a Masters of Business Administration-Finance from the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business in Dallas.
Kostelich noted he was very excited about returning to West Texas with the opportunity to work for and grow with the city of Lubbock. He went on to say he was looking forward to bringing his skills and experience back to the Hub City.
Atkinson added he was very impressed with Kostelich’s knowledge of public finances and his ability to identify the details of budgeting and spending. Kostelich earned the position over 30-plus qualified candidates.
The job Kostelich will inherited will be the central expert in the city’s finances where he will oversee the accounting group that deals with purchasing, audits, business services and billing operations as well as fiscal policy. He will also study the long-term forecasts of the city and as well as make recommendations to the city manager over decisions related to planning and budgeting.
Kostelich’s wife Callie will remain in the Dallas area while she completes work on her Doctorates degree. She is expected to join her husband next Spring. They have one daughter, Juliana.
Blu, an outstanding high school athlete, is the son of Wayne and Kristy Kostelich of Denver City. He has one sister, Tara Stepanski of Woodway, Texas.
Blu attended New Mexico Military Academy in Roswell for one year before being accepted to West Point in 2002.
