Index

I. Intro/Purpose - The City of Harrisonburg (City) is committed to protecting user privacy online. We believe that greater protection of personal privacy on the Web will not only protect users, but also increase user confidence and ultimately their participation in online activities. At the City, we intend to give you as much control as possible over your personal information.

1. Purpose of this Web site - The purpose of the City’s Web site is to provide the public with convenient and efficient access to information about Harrisonburg programs, services and city departments.
2. Purpose of this Policy – The purpose of our policy is to inform you about the types of information we gather when you visit our sites, how we may use that information, whether we disclose it to anyone, and the choices you have regarding our use of, and your ability to correct, the information.

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II. Privacy

1. We collect some information that is used for analysis and statistical purposes that help us manage the city Web site. Information that we collect for statistical purposes we automatically collect electronically generated information about your visit to our site, such as the date, type of browser used, and technical Internet protocol data. We collect this information about each user session from our user logs, and refer to it for statistical purposes. Information that you provide us when using our interactive forms and functions may include such things as name, address, telephone number, and other personal and business data.
2. Opting-out - At any time while assessing our site(s), any user while online may "opt-out" of further E-mail contact from us (while still allowing access to our sites). For further information about opting-out, contact us at the E-mail address, postal address, or telephone number below, under Site Comments.
3. Control of personal information - At any time, while assessing our site, any user while online may decline participation in any activity that asks for information (i.e. survey or E-mail). Your choice not to participate will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature on our site. In online applications that ask for personal information, you also are provided the option of canceling or terminating the application.
4. We do use cookies in applications (like the online job application) that keep track of a user and make it possible for you to complete a form or use a function, but this cookie disappears when you finish filling out an application, or searching a database. Cookies in and of themselves do not personally identify you, although they do identify your computer. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can set your browser to refuse cookies. However, you may not be able to take full advantage of this web site if you do so.
5. Disclosure to third parties - As a governmental agency, we are governed by open records laws. Any information that we receive through use of our site is subject to the same provisions as information provided on paper. Otherwise, we do not share personal identifying information with any third party without your permission.
6. Children - No applications on this Web site specifically solicit information from minors or seek to determine whether the visitor is a minor. Consequently, visitors should be aware that the collection of personal information requested from or volunteered by children online or by e-mail will be treated in the same manner as information given by an adult. Among other things, this means that it may become a public record and therefore may be subject to public access. We ask that parents guide their children when children are asked to provide personal information online. We ask that children get their parents' permission before providing any information to us.
7. This information is not reported or used in any manner that would reveal personally identifiable information, and will not be released to any outside parties unless we are legally required to do so in connection with law enforcement investigations or other legal proceedings.

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III. Linking

1. The city Web site contains links to other Internet sites and resources. This Web site links to government, community, and other commercial World Wide Web sites that support our mission statement.
2. The City will add and/or remove links on the city Web site at its own discretion and without notice. The City is not obligated to link to any other site or resource for any reason.
3. The City's Web site does not provide direct links to external sites that provide goods and/or services that are not legal to persons under 18 years of age. The provisions of links should not be construed as an endorsement or sponsorship of these external Web sites, their content, or their hosts.
4. The City specifically disavows legal responsibility for what a user may find on another site, or for the personal opinions of individuals posted on any site, whether or not operated by the City. The views and opinions of the authors of documents published on or linked to the City's Web site do not necessarily state or reflect the opinion, policy, or position of the City.
5. When you leave our site, we encourage you to read the privacy statement of each Web site that you visit before you provide any personal information.

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IV. Accuracy

1. The City has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its Web site. However, neither the City, nor any department, officer, or employee of the City warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his/her own risk. Please contact the City of Harrisonburg at 540-432-7706 to verify the accuracy of the data.

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V. Security

1. This site uses a secure server for conducting online services. Some information that you submit through this Web site is protected by encryption technology and some is not. As a general rule, all personally identifiable information is encrypted at submission time. Current browsers also provide visual cues to the visitor that a site or page is secure. At the bottom of the browser window, you should see a key or lock symbol. If the key image is not broken or the lock image appears locked, then you are on a secure Web site or page. If the key or lock images are not present or appear broken, that page is not secured.
2. If a user submits information to the city server through a Web page containing visible indicators of active encryption technology, the City will take all reasonable precautions to safeguard the confidentiality of such information, but shall nevertheless not be held liable for any injury caused by the disclosure of that information, whether caused by security breach, accident, inadvertence, or any other act resulting in disclosure.
3. In certain instances, a user may have the opportunity to receive or create a password to access or submit personally identifiable information. One should not divulge a password to anyone, and the City will never ask a user for a password in a telephone call, fax, e-mail or other form of unsolicited communication. When a user is finished with an application or applications that are password protected, they should exit the relevant page(s). If the browser used to access the password protected pages is a publicly-accessible browser (in a library, for example), the users should close down the entire session and, if applicable or possible, clear any temporary caches or other areas where a password might be stored after use.

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VI. Copyright

1. While the City provides the information on this server to anyone, we retain copyright on all text, graphic images, and other content. This means that you may not: distribute the text or graphics to others without the express written permission of the City; "mirror" this information on your server without our permission; or modify or re-use the text or graphics on this system. You may print copies of the information for your own personal use and reference this website from your own documents. Commercial use of the materials is prohibited without the written permission of the City. In all copies of this information, you must retain this notice and any other copyright notices originally included with such information. Copyright ©2005, City of Harrisonburg

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VII. Mission 

1. "The mission of City of Harrisonburg Web site, is to provide citizens, businesses and visitors with quick and convenient communications, access and service with the City of Harrisonburg. "
2. Site Comments - We appreciate questions, comments, and any other feedback that will help us serve you better. If your questions or comments are related to a specific document or piece of information, we encourage you to use the contact information or e-mail link listed in that document or a related document. Otherwise, please select an appropriate contact from the list below:
   1. If there is something that is not on this Web site that you feel we should provide, or if you have suggestions on how to improve anything about this Web site, please contact Web Suggestions.
   2. If you found something wrong with the information on this Web site, such as outdated or incorrect information, missing documents, or information located in the wrong place, please contact Web Problems, our content development coordinator. Please be sure to include the URL of the page when reporting a problem.
   3. For questions or comments of a technical or creative nature, including the architecture, development, design, and operation of this Web site, please contact the City of Harrisonburg webmaster.

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VIII. Maintenance

1. The City's Web site is maintained by its Information Technology (IT) group located in the Municipal Building at 345 S. Main St. in Harrisonburg, Virginia. New and revised information is added on a regular basis. All design and content have been created in-house. Programs used for Web creation are: Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Adobe Elements and Acrobat. Typo3 is an open source Content Management System that is used for the city Web site.

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IX. Contact Information

1. To offer comments about City of Harrisonburg’s Web site, or about the information presented in this Privacy Policy, please contact:
   City of Harrisonburg Web Master
   345 S. Main St.
   Harrisonburg, VA 22801
   540-432-7706
    E-mail 

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