From Wikipedia under "Homeowner association":
Association managementEdit
Many homeowners associations hire management companies to handle the governing duties of the association. Management services are typically divided into three categories: financial only, full management, and on-site management. Financial services typically cover administration of bank accounts, bookkeeping, assessment collection, and the HOA's budget. Full management typically includes the financial services plus help with board meetings (keeping minutes, agendas, etc.), board elections, and maintenance duties (obtaining contractor bids, etc.). On-site management typically includes all of the full management services plus direct assistance to homeowners with an assigned manager to the HOA. Education requirements for managers varies from state to state, with some requiring certification under all circumstances and others having a more lenient approach. For instance, while California does not require HOA managers to be certified, it does require that managers meet certain educational requirements to claim certification.
[15]
PowersEdit
Associations provide services, regulate activities within a development, levy assessments, and may, if authorized by CC&Rs or a state legislature, impose fines. Unlike a municipal (public) government, they are not deemed "state actors" subject to constitutional constraints.
[16] A homeowners association can enforce its actions through the threat and levying of fines and private legal or equitable actions seeking damages, foreclosure or injunction, under
civil law[
citation needed]. Homeowners have the ability to defend against such actions, and are usually entitled to sue associations for contractual or statutory violations, or for a legal determination as to the enforceability of a provision in the CC&Rs corporate documents or board-enacted rule. However, they cannot sue for civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. 1983 because associations are private corporations and not public governments.
Association boards may appoint corporate officers or officers may be elected directly by the membership (depending on the jurisdiction). The officers and the board may create committees, such as an "architectural control committee", a pool committee, a neighborhood watch committee, and others, as authorized by the CC&Rs or state statutes.
Sadly, GG, I am not surprised by your experience. You can bet those same folks would DEMAND you share your eggs and possibly expect to eat your hens if shtf and they couldn't order pizza. I got no use for those kind of people. 
