Under the civil service LGC 143, can the civil service director be an unpaid volunteer?

Yes. Chapter 143 allows the Civil Service Director to be unpaid, as long as the person is properly appointed as the Director. Here’s the key statutory hook:

• LGC § 143.012(d) says the municipality’s governing body determines the salary, if any, to be paid to the director. That “if any” is what gives the city the option to set the pay at $0.
• LGC § 143.012(a) also makes clear this isn’t an informal helper role; the commission appoints the director, and the director serves as the commission’s secretary and performs civil service system work.
• The director can be a commission member, a municipal employee, or another person.

Practical reality (important)

Calling them a “volunteer” is fine in everyday language, but legally they’re typically an appointed official/office holder under the statute, not a casual volunteer position. So you’ll want the city to do this cleanly:

1. Civil Service Commission action: appoint the person as Director (minutes/order).
2. Governing body action: set compensation at $0 (usually via budget/ordinance or other formal action).
3. Confirm eligibility: the director must meet the commission-member qualifications in § 143.006(c) (with the residency exception that applies to many cities under 1.5M population).

“Watch-outs” I’d flag

• Local rules/charter/personnel policies: some cities administratively require positions to be classified/paid even if the statute doesn’t.
• Conflicts/dual roles: allowed by statute in some cases (director may be a commission member), but still worth checking local ethics/conflict rules.
• Reimbursement + liability: if unpaid, clarify whether they get expense reimbursement, access to systems, confidentiality obligations, and coverage (training, indemnification, etc.).