Richard Merolla became the City of Akron's Director of Public Service in March of 2007.

Merolla is a graduate of Cleveland State University (1972) and holds a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science (1973.)  He began his career with the City of Akron in 1973 as an economist in the Department of Planning and Urban Development.  In 1986, he was named budget director.  In 1993, he was appointed by Mayor Don Plusquellic as Director of Finance.

When Merolla left city hall for the private sector, he joined Deloitte Consulting as a senior manager in the company's Public Sector practice until June, 2000 when he became chief operating officer of Buckingham, Doolittle, and Burroughs.

Rick Merolla has served as the board chair of the Summit County Port Authority and in the community he has been a trustee of Haven of Rest Ministries and Foundation, and a graduate of the Leadership Akron program.  Since 2005, he has been the appointed alternate to the Akron City Planning Commission, and is a member of the board of SummaCare/Summa Insurance Company.