Website Usage Policy
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Thank you for visiting Stearns County’s website and reviewing our Website Usage Policy. If you have any questions or comments about this Website Usage Policy or about the website in general, you may contact the Stearns County Web Team.
Terms of Use
The Stearns County public website at: www.co.stearns.mn.us (the "Site") is owned and operated by the County of Stearns (“County,” "we" or "us"). It is available as a public service. Stearns County may discontinue the Site or change the content or layout of the Site at any time.
By using this Site and/or participating in the Online Services and Communications Services offered on this Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and to use the Site in accordance with these Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and any additional terms and conditions that may apply to specific sections of the Site. You are responsible for all statements you make and any acts or omissions by you while you are using the Stearns County Website. You agree that you will not use the Site for any unlawful or improper purpose or activity. You agree that you will not violate any applicable State or federal law or regulation while using the site.
This agreement is personal to you, and you may not assign your rights or obligations to anyone. If any provision of this agreement is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. The laws of the United States of America and the State of Minnesota shall govern this agreement, your rights and obligations, and all actions contemplated by this Agreement, as if the agreement was a contract wholly entered into and wholly performed within the State of Minnesota. If you are unwilling to agree to the terms of use, you should not use the Site.
Website Disclaimer
The County is providing the information on this Site as a public service. The County reserves the right to make additions, changes or corrections at any time and without notice. Stearns County attempts to ensure that the information contained on this Site is valid at the time of publication. Nonetheless, due to human error, computer error, delays, and omissions, the County does not guarantee the information on the Site is always complete and accurate.
Therefore, use this site for informational purposes only. Do not use it as a substitute for legal or professional advice on any subject. Seek the advice of a qualified professional on any personal decision. If you rely upon the accuracy of information contained on this site in making a decision, you do so at your own risk.
Stearns County and its officials, employees, affiliates, agents, and licensors cannot and do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, currentness, non-infringement, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose of the information available through this Website. The data and information contained in or attached to any part of the Stearns County Website are not official documents or transactions of Stearns County. Stearns County, its officials, employees, affiliates, agents and licensors, shall not be liable to you or anyone else for any loss, injury, or personal injury resulting directly or indirectly from use of the Stearns County Website, caused in whole or in part by its negligence or contingencies beyond its control in procuring, compiling, interpreting, reporting or delivering any information through the Stearns County Website. In no event will Stearns County and its officials, employees, affiliates, agents, and licensors, be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by you in reliance on such information. Stearns County and its officials, employees, affiliates, agents, and licensors shall not be liable to you or anyone else for any damages, including, without limitation, consequential, special, incidental, indirect, or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
You agree that if there is any liability of Stearns County and its officials, employees, affiliates, agents and licensors, arising out of any kinds of legal claim (whether in contract, tort, or otherwise) in any way connected with Stearns County Website and information in the Stearns County Website, the damages shall not exceed the amount you paid to Stearns County for the use of the Stearns County Website.
Website Links to Other Sites
This Website provides links (also known as hyperlinks). These may include links to Websites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and /or private businesses. The Privacy Policy & Disclaimer set forth herein applies only to the Stearns County Website and websites providing contracted services to Stearns County. When you follow a link to any other Website, you are subject to the privacy policy and disclaimer of that Website and we encourage you to examine the privacy policy and disclaimer of that Website. You must also be aware of any potential copyright violations from printing or transferring information contained in linked sites. It is your sole responsibility to ensure no copyright violations occur. Stearns County does not review any linked site to determine what information may be subject to copyright protection. Also, please be advised that the links available at any given time are subject to future removal or change at anytime.
Stearns County in no way endorses the opinions, statements, or accuracy of information contained in linked sites. Information from linked sites may be misleading, inaccurate, or incomplete. Rely upon the information at your own risk. Neither Stearns County, nor any of its agents, officers, or employees warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published on other Websites. It does not endorse any content, viewpoints, products, or services on other Websites. Stearns County, its agents, officers, and employees shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of information on other Websites. In addition, Stearns County in no way guarantees the security of any linked site. You assume the risk of any damage the link may cause to your system, as well as the risk of disclosed personal information to third parties.
Privacy Policy
The Website of Stearns County is subject to the laws of the State of Minnesota, including the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13, as well as federal privacy laws and regulations. The purpose of our policy is to inform you about the types of information we gather when you visit our website, how we may use that information, and whether we may ever have to disclose it to anyone.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to any information you may provide to us or that we may collect offline and/or through other means (for example, at a public meeting, via telephone, or through the US mail).
Stearns County is committed to preserving the privacy and security of our Site visitors. We employ numerous measures to ensure security and privacy.
We intend to give you as much control as possible over your personal information and we strive to retrieve the minimum amount of information about our visitors necessary to provide an appropriate level of online services.
Information Automatically Collected
Stearns County collects no personal information about visitors, unless you choose to provide it.
If you only browse through this Site, read pages, or download information from the site, the system will automatically collect and store certain information about Website traffic. This information does not personally identify you. We use it only to help us improve our website. The information collected is limited to the following:
- The Internet domain (for example, "SomeCompany.Com" if you use a private Internet access account) from which you access our Site.
- The IP address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the web).
- The type of browser and operating system used to access our Site.
- The date and time during which you access our Site.
- The pages you visit.
- If you linked to our website from another website, and
- If so, the address of that website.
To better serve you, we occasionally use "cookies" to customize your browsing experience. Cookies are simple text files stored by your web browser when you first visit a website. They provide a method of distinguishing among visitors to the website. Web browsers normally accept cookies, unless the user has specifically turned the capability off.
Please be aware that other websites that may be accessed through our Site may collect personally identifiable information about you. The information practices of those third parties' websites linked to our Site are not covered by our Website Usage Policy. You are responsible for learning the privacy policies of those sites.
Information that you Voluntarily Provide Us
To access certain features and online services available on our Site, we may ask you to provide certain demographic information including your gender, year of birth, zip code and country. In addition, if you elect to sign-up for a particular Communications Service of the Site, such as Comments & Ratings and/or County Blogs, you may also be asked to register with us and such registration may require you to provide personally identifiable information such as your name, mailing address and email address. You agree to provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the Site's registration form. If we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, or incomplete, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Site (or any portion thereof). Our use of any personally identifiable information you provide to us as part of the registration process is governed by the terms of our Privacy Policy.
Protections on Personal Information you Decide to Provide
Visitors who request services available through this Site may be required to furnish additional information, which is necessary to provide the service requested. You may choose to provide us with personal information by sending us an e-mail message containing your comments or questions, or by filling out an online form with your personal information. We use this information to improve our service to you or to respond to your request.
Your information may be shared with other Stearns County agencies and employees who may be better able to help you. We only share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency, or as otherwise required by law. Stearns County does not use personal information you provide for commercial purposes. Stearns County does not disclose personally identifiable information you provide online, unless disclosure is required by State or Federal Law, or court order, or authorized by you. For specific questions about data privacy laws, you should consult with an attorney.
While Stearns County strives to ensure the privacy and security of your personal information, no security system is perfect. As with any website, a breach in security is possible. By providing personal information to this site, you assume the risk that a breach in security could occur and a third party could access your personal information. You waive any claim against Stearns County or its agents for any damages flowing from the misappropriation of your personal information. If you have any reason to believe a security breach has occurred, please contact the Stearns County Web Team.
Communications Services
This Site may include a variety of interactive applications, such as blogs, discussion forums and video/photo sharing applications (collectively known as “Communications Services”), which allow feedback for us and for real-time interaction between Site visitors.
Responsibility lies with each user for content that is posted within the Site’s Communications Services or sent via any email services on the Site. We do not control the messages or review for truth or accuracy the information or files that you or others may provide through the Communications Services sections of the Site. The County will attempt to monitor and moderate the Communications Services sections of the Site proactively for appropriate content, but you understand and agree that we have no obligation to do so.
We reserve the right at all times to disclose any Communications Service content and information we believe necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or governmental request, or to refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in our sole discretion are objectionable or in violation of the Communications Services Usage Policy. We also reserve the right to deny access to the Site or any features of the Site to anyone who violates the Terms of the Site’s Communications Services Usage Policy.
Usernames and Passwords
To use certain features of the Site, you will need a username and password, which you will receive through the Site's registration process. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password, your account, and are responsible for all activities (whether by you or by others) that occur under your password or account. You agree to exit from your account at the end of each session and to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security. We cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your password or account information.
Online Payments
The County strives to make conducting County business as convenient as possible. The Site uses a secure e-commerce function that allows you to submit electronic payments for County products and services. Some of the County’s e-commerce services require you to provide us with personally identifiable information such as your name and/or mailing address.
We do not store credit card or bank account information. In order to complete an online e-commerce transaction, your personal account information is passed directly to our payment gateway business partners’ via a secure connection. All financial transactions on our e-commerce servers are protected by powerful Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption technology utilized by major e-commerce websites. Stearns County does not share bank account information with anyone, except authorized personnel. Bank account information from payment applications will not be sold, transferred, marketed, disclosed, or otherwise shared with any outside entity other than your bank and our bank, except as may be required by law or valid court order.
Use of Information / Copyright
Users may freely print any information that they obtain from the County’s public website. Permission to use documents such as reports and data sheets on the Site is granted provided that:
- Stearns County's copyright notice or the copyright notice belonging to a third party appears on all copies.
- You may not reproduce any trademark or service mark displayed on this Site without the express written permission of the respective mark owner.
- Use of documents from this Site is for informational or personal use only.
- No modifications of any documents are permitted
All such documents and related graphics are provided as is. Certain elements of the Site are protected by copyright and trademark law as identified. You may not duplicate the design or layout of the Site. Unless expressly permitted on a Site page, no logo, graphic, or image from any County office may be reproduced or imitated.
Our Right to Use Materials You Submit or Post
When you submit or post any material via the County’s website (such as Comments, Photos and/or Videos via our Communications Services) you grant us, and anyone authorized by us, a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license to use, copy, modify, transmit, sell, exploit, create derivative works from, distribute, and/or publicly perform or display such material, in whole or in part, in any manner or medium (whether now known or hereafter developed), for any purpose that we choose. The foregoing grant includes the right to exploit any proprietary rights in such posting or submission, including, but not limited to, rights under copyright, trademark or patent laws that exist in any relevant jurisdiction. Also, in connection with the exercise of these rights, you grant us, and anyone authorized by us, the right to identify you as the author of any of your postings or submissions by name, email address or screen name, as we deem appropriate. You will not receive any compensation of any kind for the use of any materials submitted by you.
If you believe that any material on this website was submitted in error and/or infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may contact the Stearns County Web Team.
Security Statement
Security of the information that you provide us is very important to us. This website does not encrypt incoming e-mail or comments. For Site security purposes, and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, the County 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.
Accessibility
Stearns County makes all reasonable efforts to ensure this website is accessible to all users. We strive to meet the accessibility standards required of Federal Government websites.
If you should experience an accessibility problem with this website, please notify the primary contact email address for the service or information you are viewing. If you should need information in alternate formats, the primary contact can help you obtain the alternate format.
Policy Changes
The County reserves the right to change this policy or to impose new conditions on use of the Site at any time. It is the responsibility of individual visitors to inform themselves and monitor the terms of use during each visit.