City Web Site Privacy Policy
The City of Virginia maintains this web site to enhance public access to City information. This is a service that is continually under development. While we try to keep the information timely and accurate, we make no guarantees. We will make an effort to correct errors brought to our attention.
PRIVACY STATEMENT
Thank you for visiting the City of Virginia’s website and reviewing our privacy statement. The City is strongly committed to maintaining the privacy of your personal information and the security of our computer systems. With respect to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, the City makes every effort to ensure compliance with applicable Federal law and state law, including, but not limited to, the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Freedom of Information Act.
As a general rule, the City does not collect personally identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us. The information we receive depends upon what you do when visiting our site.
However, all City computer systems are subject to monitoring at all time to assure proper functioning of the systems, to provide security for the computer system’s operation and information contained, to prevent unauthorized use, and to deter and investigate violations of law. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in the use of this public computer system.
If you visit our site to read or download information, we collect and store the following information:
The name of the domain from which you access the Internet.
The date and time you access our site.
The Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site.
The above information is used by software programs on our website to create summary statistics which allow us to assess the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, identify what information is of most and least interest, determine technical design specifications, monitor system performance, and help us make our site more useful to visitors.
If you identify yourself by sending an E-mail containing personal information:
You also may decide to send us personally-identifying information, for example your mailing address, in an electronic mail message requesting that information be mailed to you. Information collected in this manner is used solely for responding to requests for information or records. We may forward your E-mail to other City employees who are better able to respond to you.
If you link to other sites outside the City:
Our Website has many links to other sites. When you link to any of these sites, you are no longer on our site and are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.
Cookie Use Notice
Cookies are small pieces of temporary data that are exchanged between a web site and a user’s computer which enable a “session”, or “dialog”, to be established between the two machines. With the session established, the City is able to tailor its responses (i.e., identify and provide you with the information you want) and help you traverse our web pages in the most efficient and effective manner possible. The session is often broken when the City’s server does not receive further requests from your computer or you simply exit your browser.
On a limited number of its web pages, the City employs “cookies” to provide better service to its citizens. The City does not use cookies to collect any personally identifying information from users or to track user activities beyond our web site. The City does not maintain copies of cookies on our web site after you leave our web site.
The City limits its use of cookies to “session cookies”… types of cookies that are temporarily stored in your computer’s memory. Session cookies are normally deleted from a user’s computer when the user logs off the computer or the user exits the browser. We do not use “persistent cookies”, which are the type of cookies that can be stored permanently on your workstation and reused each time you visit the City’s web site.
Security
For security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, our website also employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.
Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this website are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996.
USE OF LINKS TO EXTERNAL WEB SITES
Links to non City web sites are included for the convenience of the user. The inclusion of such links does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the City of Virginia of any private sector web site, product, or service.
The purpose of the City’s web site is to enhance delivery of and citizens access to the City’s services, programs, and information. The City will evaluate any request for placement of a link on its Web site by whether or not the link will help achieve this purpose.
In keeping with the above, it is the City’s policy to limit links on its site to:
* other related government sites and government-funded sites
* sites of non-governmental organizations that provide direct policy support or coordination to City departments
* sites operated by other entities that provide services on behalf of the City or that are closely affiliated with department programs
* sites where links are requested by a City department from an entire class of regulated entities
* sites that offer primarily informational or educational content that supports the City’s programs and services at no cost to the user.
If you have any questions or comments please send them to information@virginiamn.us or call City Hall at (218) 748-7500 and ask to speak to the person in charge of the website.
