If you want to understand what’s wrong with government, look no further…

…than your own backyard

It’s easy to criticize the government and those in it, especially when you voted for “the other guy.” We all wonder how it gets out of control and grows so corrupt. This problem doesn’t start in some far off hallowed halls. Most understand that the most effective way to influence government is to start local and get involved. This is often interpreted as doing something to affect county or city government because it is assumed this is as “local” as you can get. There is, however, an example of government that hits even closer to home, literally: the homeowners association.

The HOA is, in a way, a microcosm of the country. The HOA itself is made up of all of the residents of the neighborhood. We’ll call these the citizens. The HOA has a governing body, the board of directors, elected by the citizens to represent them in writing and enforcing rules to help protect property values, budgeting for and provisioning services to maintain public spaces, and often to secure resources that help insure public safety for the neighborhood. The board is (supposed to be) bound by bylaws, just as government is (supposed to be) bound by the Constitution. The board determines annual fees/dues that all citizens must remit in order to pay for services rendered, just as government taxes citizens in order to pay for the running of the government and services rendered.

Much like government, HOA boards often attract those who lust for power. After all the board positions are, much like elected government positions, public service roles; though unlike government, HOA board members do not typically draw a salary - it is volunteer work. As such, though they are ostensibly in place to preserve homeowners’ interests, megalomania often ensues. As volunteers, they may see themselves beyond question. After all, “I’m doing this on my own time. I have a real job you know. If you don’t like the way we’re doing it, why don’t you do it? You just don’t realize how under-appreciated we are. We are residents too you know.”

This serves as justification when overbearing rules are put in place by these tin-pot dictators who are intended to be public servants. And much like government, these petty tyrants often flout their own rules. Citizens of the HOA receive letters threatening fines for rule violations, some as innocuous as grass turning brown during a drought, or perhaps allowing it to grow an inch too tall. I recall as a child a friend’s parents being sued by their HOA because they painted their house yellow. Even now my HOA is attempting to institute a rule (after already having sent notices to several residents) regarding putting garbage cans out too soon before trash pick up, or leaving said cans out too long after.

How money is dealt with also can become much like government. Funds may be allocated for something many see as frivolous (let’s say, a quarter million dollars for a pickle ball court), while other issues residents deem more important receive less funding or no funding at all. Perhaps worse, much like government, is when they receive more than what was spent on budgeted items, and despite a contract requiring such overages to be rebated, holding onto the funds for future need. In some places, HOAs even have the power to bring eviction proceedings should dues or fines not be paid, much like government may do in the case of someone who fails to remit property tax. There are so many ways in which HOAs operate like government, and power and financial abuse is just as rampant at this level as it is at the federal level.

There is an unfortunate underlying aspect to the problem that citizens never fail to overlook or underestimate: citizen involvement. Many reading this may not live in an HOA, though this applies to condo associations or county and city government as well. How many residents do you see regularly attend HOA board meetings? They are generally (or should be) open to residents. If you are not going and making sure your comments and concerns are heard, what are you doing? If you are not familiar with the people on the board of your HOA, why not? What are you doing to change that? How will you know whether to vote for “the incumbent” if you don’t know how that incumbent is behaving? Does your HOA send out a newsletter or minutes from their meetings? Do any of the residents who attend?

If citizens refuse to be involved, to attend meetings, to hold their HOA board accountable, they have no one to blame but themselves for the issues that arise from and the corruption that infiltrates the board. If we are so remiss at the most basic local level, that of the neighborhood, then how can we expect to affect change at the city, county, state, or federal level? Sure, grassroots movements and activists can do a bit of work and push government to make minor concessions, but if we are so apathetic as to not bother even to be involved in the communities where we live, what level of involvement can we expect at broader levels of government?

Citizenship, whether in a HOA, city, state, or country, is not easy. Citizenship requires work. This work takes time and is often not easy, but if we are unwilling to do it, we alone are to blame for the failures of government. If we can’t bother to be involved even at the neighborhood level, we should not expect better from those governing broader swaths of the population. Never forget, our founding fathers established this country on the premise that the government is of the people and all of its authority is derived from our consent. If we refuse to put forth the effort to oversee the authority we delegate, then we should not be surprised when those who receive it usurp it and much, much more.