1.0 PREAMBLE
Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional
form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the
government of City of Zion that all persons are entitled to full
and complete information regarding the affairs
of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent
them as public officials and public employees. The access to this information is
not intended to be used to violate individual privacy, nor to further
a commercial enterprise, nor to disrupt the duly-undertaken work
of any public body independent of the fulfillment of any of rights
of the people to access information.
The City of
Zion is committed to safeguarding the privacy of its citizens.
2.0 DEFINITIONS
Cookies - A cookie is a line of text with
a server address and identification number which is stored
on a computer. Cookies are by themselves not harmful and
do not contain information other than that
which an individual has voluntarily entered. They are not
applications or virus spreaders. They may be used to track
where the user goes on a website or to pass information
from one page to the next so that the user does not have to enter
redundant information every time a form
is completed. If the user chooses to not allow cookies
on their computer, there are some applications on the
City website which may not function.
City - As used in this document, "City" shall
refer to the employees and representatives of the government
of City of Zion, Illinois.
3.0 PRIVACY STATEMENT
Information collected and received through
the City website may become public record and therefore
subject to disclosure under the Illinois Freedom of Information
Act.
It is therefore the policy of City of Zion that any personal
information provided to the City, including, but not limited
to, name, address, telephone number, drivers license number,
Social Security Number and email address will not be sold
or rented to any entity or individual or disclosed to unauthorized
entity or individual. The release of personal information
by the departments and agencies under the control of the
City Council shall be limited to authorized State of Illinois
government agencies, to authorized County departments,
to authorized department contractors or grantees, and as mandated by
Illinois law or
court order.
4.0 PERSONAL INFORMATION AND CHOICE
"Personal information" is information about
an individual that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal
information includes personal identifiers such as an individual's
name, address, phone number, drivers license number and
Social Security number. A domain name or Internet Protocol
address is not considered personal information. The City
does not collect personal information about an individual unless
that individual chooses to voluntarily participate in an activity that asks
for information (e.g., sending an e-mail or participating
in a survey). If an individual chooses not to participate
in these activities, that choice will in no way affect
that individual's ability to use any other feature of the
City of Zion websites. If personal information is requested
on the website or volunteered by the user, State law and
the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However,
this information is a public record once an individual
has provided it, and may be subject to public inspection
and copying if not protected by federal or state law.
5.0 POLICIES FOR INDIVIDUALS UNDER 13 YEARS OF AGE
The City is committed to complying fully with the Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act. Accordingly, any user under
the age of 13 is not authorized to provide the City with personally
identifying information , and the City will not use any such information in the City's database
or other data collection activities.
The City appreciates cooperation
with this federally mandated requirement.
Users are cautioned that
the collection of personal information volunteered
by children on-line or by e-mail will be treated the same as information
given by an adult and may be subject to public access.
6.0 WEB LOGS
The City analyzes website logs to continually improve the value of
the materials available on the City's site. Website logs are not personally
identifiable, and the City makes no attempt to link them with the individuals
that browse the City website.
7.0 INFORMATION RETAINED AND HOW
IT IS USED
If, during a visit to the City of Zion website, an individual just
browses or downloads information, the following information about
that visit will be retained: 1. The Internet Protocol address (not
the e-mail address). Unique IP addresses are counted to determine the
number of visitors to each web page during specific time frames. Analysis
of the number of visitors helps to determine how, where or if the page
will be delivered in the future.
2. The type of web browser used (Internet
Explorer, Netscape, etc.).
Web pages do not always display the same
on every type or version of web browser and thus must be coded for
appropriate access.
8.0 CORRESPONDENCE
If during a visit to the City of Zion website an individual participates
in a survey or send an e-mail, the following additional information will
be collected:
1. E-mail correspondence: The e-mail address and contents
of the e-mail.
The City may use an e-mail to respond appropriately.
This may be to address issues identified by a user, to further improve
the City's website, or to forward the e-mail to another agency for
appropriate action.
2. Surveys : Any information volunteered
in response to a survey is used for the purpose designated. The information
collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio,
video, and graphic information formats that have been provided.
9.0 LINK DISCLAIMER
9.1 Linking to the City's Pages
An individual may link to any page on City of Zion's
website without permission.
The City recommends that an individual
confine these links to the home page or to the home pages of
specific departments. Other pages may be removed or contain
time-sensitive data that is no longer valid.
9.2 Disclaimer for External Links
The City of Zion website contains links to other
related World Wide Web Internet sites and resources. The City
is not responsible for the contents of any off-site pages referenced.
The user specifically acknowledges that City of Zion is not liable for the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct
of other users, links, or third parties and that the risk
of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with the user.
Links from the City's web pages on the World Wide Web to
other sites do not constitute an endorsement from the City.
These links are provided as an information service only.
It is the responsibility of the web surfer to evaluate the
content and usefulness of information obtained
from other sites. Since the City is not responsible for the
availability of these outside resources or their contents, an individual should direct any concerns regarding any external
link to its site administrator or webmaster.
9.3 Requesting a link:
An individual may request a link be made to an organization
or business on the City's main links page.
Links are subject
to review, and the City reserves the right to reject any
link. Links likely to be granted access are those which provide
useful information about the City of Zion,
participate in the economic development of City of Zion or
provide material and/or educational services to the City
of Zion.
9.4 Disclaimer of Endorsement
The City is a distributor of content sometimes supplied by third parties
and users.
Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information
or content expressed or made available by third parties, including
information providers, users, or others, are those of the respective
author(s) or distributor(s) and do not necessarily state or reflect
those of the City and shall not be used for advertising or product
endorsement purposes. Reference herein to any specific commercial
products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer,
or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation,
or favoring by the City.
10.0 LEGAL NOTICES
Access to the City of Zion's website is provided subject to the following
terms and conditions. Please read these terms carefully as use of these
sites constitutes acceptance of all of the following terms and conditions:
10.1 Disclaimer of Liability
Neither the City of Zion Government nor any of its Council members,
officers, agents or employees shall be held liable for any improper
or incorrect use of the information described and/or contained
herein and assumes no responsibility for anyone's use of the information.
In no event shall the City's website or its
Council members, officers,
agents or employees be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental,
special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not
limited to, procurement or substitute goods or services; loss of use,
data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any
theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort
(including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use
of this system, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.
This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury, including
but not limited to those caused by any failure of performance, error,
omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission,
computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction or
unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of record, whether for
breach of contract, torturous behavior, negligence or under any other
cause of action.
10.2 Disclaimer of Warranties and Accuracy of Data
Although the data found using the City of Zion's access systems have
been produced and processed from sources believed to be reliable,
no warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding accuracy, adequacy,
completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of any information.
This disclaimer applies to
both isolated and aggregate uses of the
information. The City provides this information on an "as is" basis.
All warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not
limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, freedom from contamination by computer viruses
and non-infringement of proprietary rights are disclaimed. Changes
may be periodically made to the information herein;
these changes may or may not be incorporated in any new version of
the publication.
If an individual has obtained information from
any of the City's web pages from a source other than the
City pages,
that individual should be aware that electronic data can be altered
subsequent to original distribution. Data can also quickly become out
of date. It is recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents
of any data associated with a file, and that the originator of the
data or information be contacted with any questions
regarding appropriate use. If an individual finds any errors or omissions,
the City encourages the reporting of them to us via e-mail.
10.3 Disclaimer of Duty to Continue Provision of Data
Due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, resources that are free and
publicly available one day may require a fee or restricted access the
next, and the location of items may change as menus, home pages, and
files are reorganized. The user expressly agrees that use of the City's
website is at the user's sole risk.
The City does not warrant that
the service will be uninterrupted or error free. The documents and
related graphics published on this server could contain technical inaccuracies
or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein.
The City and/or its respective agencies and programs may
make improvements
and/or changes in the information and/or programs
described herein at any time.
10.4 Security
The City, as developer and manager of this website, has taken several
steps to safeguard the integrity of its communications and computing
infrastructure, including but not limited to authentication, monitoring,
auditing, and encryption. Security measures have been integrated
into the design, implementation and day-to-day practices of the entire
City operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to
risk management. This information should not be construed in any way
as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof,
the security of information provided via City supported
websites.
10.5 Choice of Law
Construction of the disclaimers above and resolution of disputes thereof
are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois and
the policies of the City of Zion. The laws of the State of Illinois
, USA, shall apply to all uses of this data and this system. By use of
this system and any data contained therein, the user agrees that use
shall conform to all applicable laws and regulations and user
shall
not violate the rights of any third parties.
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