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Comment by simfree | Hacker News Reader

Functional municipal governments handle garbage collection, building recreation centers with pools, cleaning up green spaces when people dump tires, mowing overgrown sidewalks and controlling vermin.

I've personally had my city pick up tires from a green space (also recorded the company that dumped 'em), cut overgrown yards and sidewalks, and they consistently collect my trash.

Why would someone with a functional local government ever entertain the straightjacket that an HOA enforces on its residents? It's not their business what color I paint my house, where I put my basketball hoop, or what size and style hedge I grow around my front yard.

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The simple answer to your question I think is that the vast, vast majority of the US does not have a functional local government that does any of those things.

I remember calling the police about the rifle firing(this was not on acreage), and they acted like I was annoying them!

From what one developer in Florida told me, the local government doesn't want to pay for roads, services, or amenities for any new developments, so requires they set up an HOA to cover it. Seeing as over 80% of new build homes are in an HOA, I tend to believe that.

> the vast, vast majority of the US does not have a functional local government that does any of those things.

Not very true for municipalities with above minimal population. It is true that some local govs are less funded, ergo less effective. But the trend is to do well with the resources available.

> I remember calling the police

Police are not code enforcement.

> Florida told me, the local government doesn't want to pay for roads, services, or amenities for any new developments,

I'm FL for 30 years. Local govs don't tax for neighborhood road improvements. They do tax for code enforcement. Residents get what they pay for and code enforcement is pretty good - responsive but not onerous.

source: volunteered for code enforcement for 4 years

> Functional municipal governments handle garbage collection, building recreation centers with pools, cleaning up green spaces when people dump tires, mowing overgrown sidewalks and controlling vermin.

They don't generally do any of those but the first on private property, except maybe (for the cleanup tasks) after citing and fining the property owner for failing to do it in addition to charging them the cost of having it done, and they often do the first only under a contract with the property owner, so that with a shared structure with a common set of bins, the contract would need to be with an association responsible for the shared bins.

An HOA is just another form of government more local to your house. There can indeed be very specific covenants but most of what you mentioned a city will not do until very far down the path of misery. Joining the board or participating in the HOA is a great way to get your voice heard.

While cities may do the things you describe, its usually going to long after the problem emerged.

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