privacyIntroduction
Welcome to the City of Ellsworth’s website. Maine State Law (Title 1, M.R.S.A. Chapter 14-A: Notice of Information Practices) requires all public (i.e., governmental) entities with a publicly accessible website to develop and post on their website, a policy regarding their practices relating to personal information. As a visitor to our website you are important to us and your right to privacy is equally as important. Here is some important information you should know before further engaging the City’s website. We endeavor to collect only the minimum amount of information needed for you to maneuver around our website.
Public Disclosure
All information collected on the City of Ellsworth website will be treated the same as any written communication and is subject to the confidentiality and public disclosure provisions of Maine State Law (Title 1, M.R.S.A. Chapter 13: Public Records and Proceedings).
Consent
By using our website you signify your assent to our privacy policy. If you do not agree with any of the terms in this policy, please do not use our website or submit any personally identifiable information.
Personal Information
Identifiable Personal Information is information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that specific individual and may include: Name, Street Address, E-Mail address, telephone number, password or any combination of data that could be used to identify you such as your birth date, zip code, etc. Personally identifiable information will not be collected unless you voluntarily send an e-mail message, fill out and send an online form, or fill out personal information and send in a survey.
We will not release or share information that is not required by Maine State Law (Title 1, M.R.S.A. Chapter 13: Public Records and Proceedings).
Statistical Information
We use a 3rd party service to collect statistical information on visitors who view or download information from our website which may include, but is not limited to, some or all of the following information:
- Date/Time: Date/Time the visit occurred
- Client IP: Unique Internet Protocol (IP) address of the website visitor. The IP address recorded is normally that of the visitor’s Internet service provider, e.g., aol.com if the visitor connects from an America Online account.
- Server IP: Unique Internet Protocol (IP) address of the State of Maine web server accessed.
- HTTP Request URL: Identifies the webpage or file requested by the website visitor.
- Bytes Sent: Amount of data sent from the web server to the website visitor during that connection.
- Bytes Received: Amount of data sent from website visitor to the web server.
- User Agent: Type of web browser or other client software that made request to the web server.
- Referrer: Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that referred to the requested file.
- Protocol Version: Version of HTTP used by the visitor’s web browser software.
The information we collect is used to improve the content of our web services and help us understand how people are using our services. We analyze our website logs to continually improve the value of the materials available on our website. The information in our website logs is not personally identifiable, and we make no attempt to link it with the individuals that browse our website.
E-mail messages, sent to any municipal address, will be treated the same as any other written communication. They may be subject to public inspection or legal disclosure and may be saved for a period of time before they are destroyed. E-mail or other information requests sent to the municipality may be maintained in order to respond to the request, forward that request to the appropriate agency, or to provide the web designer with valuable customer feedback to assist in improving the site.
E-mail addresses obtained as a result of a request to this website will not be sold or given to private companies for marketing purposes. We will not release or share information that is not required by Maine State Law (Title 1, M.R.S.A. Chapter 13: Public Records and Proceedings).
Cookies
Cookies are small text files that a web server may ask your web browser to store, and to send back to the web server when needed. Cookies may be used to store a transaction identifier or other information a user may provide. The “help” portion of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies or how to disable cookies altogether. You can refuse the cookies or delete the cookie file from your computer by using any of the widely available methods.
Hyperlinks
Our website contains hyperlinks or “links” to other sites, and other sites may “link” to this site. Websites linking to and from our websites may have different privacy practices from the ones described herein. Visitors to our website should read the privacy statements of other websites they visit. Our Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by our website.
Changes to Privacy Policy
We will post any substantive changes in this privacy policy at least 30 days prior to the change taking effect. Any information collected under this current policy will remain bound by the terms of this privacy statement. After the changes take effect, all the new information collected, if any, will be subject to the revised privacy policy.
Contact
If you have questions about our privacy procedures, please contact the Information Technology Department at Ellsworth City Hall at (207) 667-2563 or write to City of Ellsworth, 1 City Hall Plaza, Ellsworth, ME 04605-1942.