Meet Rea Price, our Capital Budget Manager!

We sat down with Rea to learn more about her role and how she works every day to optimize and manage our strategic infrastructure investments, helping ensure that Pittsburgh Water continues to serve as a responsible steward of ratepayer funds while delivering important improvements to water reliability and system modernization. 

Tell us more about your role. 

The Capital Budget Manager is responsible for overseeing the development and management of an organization’s capital budget, which, at Pittsburgh Water, consists of a 5-year spending plan for water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure improvements. This includes the development of the actual Capital Improvement Plan, and all the related reporting and financial administration. 

What made you decide to pursue a career in your field? 

When I was little, I wanted to grow up to be Indiana Jones, but sadly, that wasn’t a realistic career choice! I went to graduate school for public administration because I wanted to have a career that benefited the public, and my first “real” job was in a Budget Technician role for Pittsburgh City Council. Each of my roles since then have been in a variety of budget positions that have built upon my previous experience and knowledge. 

What made you decide to join Pittsburgh Water? 

It’s important to me to have a career that has a tangible impact on the public good. At Pittsburgh Water, I’m working for an organization whose mission is to provide safe drinking water for people – you can’t get more “public good” than that! 

How do you contribute to the delivery of safe, clean drinking water for all our communities? 

Pittsburgh Water needs to carefully balance the cost associated with water system improvements with the available funding and the desire to keep customer rates as affordable as possible. Unfortunately, the needs always exceed the available funding. I play a crucial role in ensuring that we’re prioritizing the projects that will deliver the greatest benefit to ensure service reliability and water quality for our customers. Many of the projects undertaken by Pittsburgh Water require a thoughtful, multi-year financial strategy so they are as cost-effective as possible for our ratepayers, while still delivering the promised benefits for our customers.  

What’s an interesting fact we don’t know about you? 

The most interesting thing about me is probably that one year, not all that long ago, I decided to give away all my belongings and move to Thailand for a few years. You can call it a midlife crisis if you want, but I just wanted an exciting challenge. So I booked a one-way ticket to Thailand, and I left with two suitcases and almost no plan. Fortunately, everything fell into place once I got there, and I had an incredible experience living there. After 2.5 years of living there, I decided it was time to move back to the United States. However, that was when the pandemic started, and I got “stuck” in Bangkok. I ultimately ended up staying for another year, and that year turned out to be one of the best years of my life. 

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard? 

Do what you’re afraid to do. The more you face what you perceive to be scary, the less scary it becomes. The easy choice is to avoid situations that are uncomfortable, unpleasant, or scary, but in my experience, those have been some of my most rewarding experiences. 

What’s something that recently made you smile? 

I have no children of my own, but I have 5 nieces and nephews that I love with all my heart. My sister-in-law recently posted my youngest niece and nephew’s school pictures on Facebook. Elliott, age 3, is crying in his picture. The school offered to retake his photo, but my sister-in-law wanted to have the memory, so she decided against the re-shoot and proudly displays it. I can’t stop looking at that photo and laughing. He’s going to be so mad at her when he is older!