Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

Introduction

Olmsted County Minnesota is committed to protecting online users' privacy. It is our goal to try to protect your privacy when you access an Olmsted County website in order to assure citizen confidence, increase participation in online activities and support effective delivery of services. At Olmsted County. we intend to give you as much control as possible over disclosure of your personal information. 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, whether we disclose it to anyone, and the choices you have regarding our use of the information. The following is the privacy policy for the website (all pages starting with www.olmstedcounty.gov and www.olmstedcounty.com).

Terms of Use

By visiting the Olmsted County website, users agree that they will not use the website for any unlawful activity, or use it in a way that would violate the following terms and conditions. This website is governed and construed by the laws of the State of Minnesota. Any use of the website shall comply with all Olmsted County, Minnesota and State of Minnesota laws and regulations as well as with all federal laws and regulations.

Collection of Information

No personally identifiable information is collected about visitors who simply browse this website or who download information from it. For that type of activity, we will automatically collect and store only the following information about your visit: The Internet domain (for example, "SomeCompany.Com" if you use a private Internet access account) and IP address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the web) from which you access our website; the type of browser and operating system used to access our site; the date and time you access our site; the pages you visit; if you linked to our website from another website, and the address of that website if applicable. If you participate in a survey or send an e-mail, your e-mail address and the contents of the e-mail and information volunteered in response to the survey will be collected. Visitors who request services available through this website may be required to furnish additional information which may be required by law or which is necessary to provide the service requested. The additional information collected will be no more specific than if the visitor were requesting the service by any other means, including by telephone or an in-person visit to a County facility. Any data provided by you to Olmsted County will be classified in accordance with and any release of this data will be governed by the requirements of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act found at Chapter 13 of the Minnesota Statutes.

IT IS ILLEGAL UNDER MINNESOTA STATUTES SECTION 626A.02 TO INTERCEPT ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN TWO OR MORE PERSONS UNLESS THE PERSON INTERCEPTING THE ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS IS A PARTY TO THE COMMUNICATIONS OR ONE OF THE PARTIES TO THE COMMUNICATIONS HAS GIVEN PRIOR CONSENT TO SUCH INTERCEPTION.  HOWEVER, WITH RESPECT TO OLMSTED COUNTY DISTRICT PROCEEDINGS, ALL PROCEEDINGS REMAIN SUBJECT TO THE JUDICIAL BRANCH'S RULES THAT LIMIT OR PROHIBIT RECORDINGS OF PROCEEDINGS. NO PERSON ATTENDING A PROCEEDING MAY RECORD OR BROADCAST ANY PROCEEDING OR HEARING, WHETHER HELD IN PERSON OR REMOTELY, OTHER THAN AS PROVIDED BY COURT RULES. THE ONLY RECORDING PERMITTED IS THE OFFICIAL RECORDING CREATED BY THE COURT.  USERS OF THE COUNTY’S MICROSOFT TEAMS VIDEO CONFERENCING SOFTWARE MUST COMPLY WITH THESE RESTRICTIONS IN CONNECTION WITH ANY USE OF MICROSOFT TEAMS.  

We do not sell any of the information we collect for any purpose. We use this information to help us make our website more useful to visitors; learning about the number of visitors to our website and the types of technology our visitors use helps us improve the website and the services we offer.

Any information obtained through SMS communication to which the user has consented will not be shared with third parties or affiliates other than as permitted or required by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act and any applicable federal laws and regulations. This information includes the SMS consent and phone numbers for the purpose of SMS messaging.

Cookies

Our site uses a "session cookie" that is stored on the user's computer only until they close the browser.  The session cookie allows the server software to keep the user logged in as they browse the site.  The cookie is not shared with other websites, does not track or store personal information, and expires as soon as the user closes the browser.

Disclaimer

This website provides links to other websites. These may include links to websites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and /or private businesses. This Privacy Policy applies only to Olmsted County websites. When you link to any other website, you are subject to the privacy policy and Section 508 accessibility policy of that website. Visitors linking to another website are encouraged to examine the privacy policy and Section 508 accessibility policy of that website.

Olmsted County provides secure email boxes for members of the public to submit emails to county staff about sensitive matters where confidentiality is important.  These include, but not limited to, child and adult protection reports, criminal activity, public health concerns and complaints about violations of the law concerning use of real property. Please use these secure email boxes for these types of matters. Olmsted County disclaims all liability for unauthorized use and dissemination of confidential information if members of the public submit emails about confidential matters using the regular unsecured county departmental email boxes.

Neither Olmsted County, Minnesota, nor any agency,  employee or elected official of the County warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published on the website, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this website, and they shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of  any information provided may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this website does so at his or her own risk.

Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy, or about the website in general, you may contact the Olmsted County Webmaster at webmaster@co.olmsted.mn.us.