As exciting as it was to find out two spies inhabited the city across the river, we must instead consider something else on everyone’s mind—neighborhood associations.

Neighborhood associations are groups residents love to hate. They make you paint your door a color you don’t like. (Wrong. That’s the historic district or architecture commission.) They are always against everything. (Often.) They are run by busy bodies who have nothing else to do. (Not as much as you’d think.)

Downtown Boston neighborhood associations deal with zoning, licensing, real estate development, public safety and quality of life concerns. Their decisions are not law, but the city’s regulatory agencies take their viewpoints seriously. The groups differ as much as their neighborhoods differ. The South End is known for dozens of them. Bay Village’s made a name for itself years ago when it successfully addressed prostitution in the neighborhood.

Charlestown’s association is actually a “council,” one of only two left of the councils instigated by Mayor Flynn in 1986. Right now it is focused on realigning Sullivan Square and Rutherford Avenue, said Chairman Tom Cunha, and trying to get development going in that neglected part of town.

Any resident can run for the council, whose members are chosen in a public election. Other council members are appointed by their organizations, such as the Mothers Club. Meetings are open to everyone.

But some residents complain that the council is run by insiders. Charlestown residents also look at associations like the Back Bay’s and want one like it that sponsors events and builds community. But Cunha said Charlestown already has a dozen organizations doing just that.

The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay is 180 degrees different from Charlestown’s. In addition to events, its committees over the years have established the Clarendon Street Playground, maintained the trees on Commonwealth Avenue, attacked graffiti and cleaned the alleys on a regular basis.

It differs from the Charlestown Neighborhood Council in its leadership strategy. It’s a closed shop, admittedly run by the insiders. Decisions with ramifications for the whole neighborhood are made in board meetings closed to the membership and the public.

I didn’t have a chance to ask NABB leadership about their strategy, since several calls to the president were not returned. But I did talk with Marty Walz, who was on NABB’s board for just about forever before she was elected state rep.

This practice must diminish NABB’s influence over real estate developments or the perennial requests from Newbury Street businesses for longer hours and more liquor licenses. How can they claim to represent the neighborhood when only a few neighbors are invited to the decision-making process?

It doesn’t bother Marty. “It’s a private membership group,” she said.

So is the Beacon Hill Civic Association, and it would seem as if its voice on issues could well be stronger than NABB’s since BHCA board meetings are open to members, the public and the press. If you’re interested in a matter, you can listen to arguments that might change your opinion. You can be heard, and you can disagree.

Not that people find it easy to do so on this or any neighborhood board. Board members of both NABB and the BHCA are nurtured through committees, and many join the board after having been instructed in the conventional wisdom. In both organizations board members who disagree with the prevailing thought, whatever it is at the time, get up and quietly leave a meeting, and then decline to serve another year.

The BHCA reminds callers of its founding date by the last four digits of its telephone number, 1922. It’s the most sophisticated group, with a well-equipped office staffed by two full-time employees.  Great efforts over the years went into opposing liquor licenses, but the BHCA lost that battle. Ironically, residents would probably say the new liquor licenses improved the quality of life, since as you pass by you see many Beacon Hill residents sitting at neighborhood restaurants enjoying the martini they couldn’t have had a few years ago. The BHCA deals with other quality of life matters and sponsors social events. It is now spearheading a strategic plan for the neighborhood.

The North End has two organizations. The North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council is the other remaining Flynn institution. Its board is elected by the community in May. And there is the North End Waterfront Residents’ Association, a private membership organization started as a counterpoint to the council in the mid-1990s, which requires attendance at one other meeting in the previous six months to be able to vote at a meeting where a vote is called for, keeping a proponent from packing the room. Both organizations deal with development and licensing matters, but the NEWRA’s broader mandate addresses sociability as well.          Restaurants’ closing hours are a theme for both entities, as is how to diversify neighborhood businesses so they serve residents, not just visitors wanting to dine on Italian food. They often agree on matters, but sometimes nuanced differences of opinion are held with great passion, said state Representative Aaron Michlewitz, who for a time served as president of the council and is also a member of NEWRA.

Residents and business owners often complain when they can’t get what they want from neighborhood associations, but they are important when a matter affects a community. Michlewitz said it best: “their most important function is to separate misinformation from truth.”

Go to the next association or council meeting in your neighborhood. You’ll hear opposing arguments. You’ll be able to watch neighborhood leaders in action. You’ll be able to judge for yourself whether your neighborhood is in good hands.