Privacy Policy

The following Public Website Content and External Links Policy dictates best practice and FEMA polices for government website content. Its purpose is to protect the city while abiding by the Freedom of Information Act.

Purpose

It is the purpose of the Emporia City Government website to provide accurate content that will inform Emporia citizens about City of Emporia services, operations, projects, and special events, and provide information pertaining to City officials and personnel. In addition, the website should be used to facilitate the delivery of services provided by the City of Emporia to its citizens and other customers.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the City of Emporia website does not become public for a or limited public for a (with the exception of the Community Calendar subweb), but rather is maintained for the exclusive use of the City of Emporia in communicating matters of general public interest.

City of Emporia Website Mission

Provide access to material about City of Emporia services, programs and activities, City officials and staff, government issues and local government process, and public facilities;
Encourage community members to participate in City government;
Offer information in an effective and time-efficient manner;
Gauge community satisfaction with City services and/or work programs; and
Manage the links and material on the website to ensure that the City’s information is easily discernible.

Website Disclaimer

The City of Emporia website is maintained to provide information to the public. Information found on the City’s website has been compiled from a variety of sources and is subject to change at any time and without notice from the City of Emporia. While every effort is made to keep such information accurate and up to date, the City of Emporia assumes no liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly because of errors, omissions or discrepancies. The City Manager’s Office is responsible for the management and oversight of the City of Emporia website. Questions or comments concerning information contained in the City of Emporia website should be directed to emporiainfo@emporiaks.gov. Comments about the City’s website are welcome from any source and are always appreciated.

By using the City of Emporia website, the user assumes all risks associated with its use, including but not

limited to the risk of damage to computer, software, or data by any virus, program, or file, which might be transmitted through the Internet. Under no circumstances shall the City of Emporia be liable for any damages resulting from the use of the City of Emporia website or any external link. Any potential lawsuit or dispute shall be filed in Lyon County, Kansas.

The opinions expressed in any linked websites are not those of the City of Emporia, and any questions on other websites should be addressed to the entity sponsoring such site.

Privacy

A computer communicates with the City of Emporia’ website using a particular Internet Protocol address (IP). Like most sites, the City of Emporia can track the user's IP address when visiting the site. The IP address allows the City of Emporia to track for each user, information such as the IP address, the browser type, and the identity of the user's Internet service provider: however, the IP address does not provide any personally identifiable information and allows the user to remain anonymous. This information helps the City to improve site navigation and to make improvements to the City’s website and content.

To the extent that the City website contains or may in the future contain online registration forms for special activities or other services, an applicant may be asked during the application process for name, address, e-mail address, phone number, birth date, or other general or special purpose information needed to complete registration for the specific activity or service.

To the extent that the City website contains or may in the future contain online volunteer or employment application forms, an applicant may be asked during the application process to provide name, address, e-mail address, phone number, driver’s license number, occupations, work experiences, employment history, education level, and/or references.

To the extent that the City website contains or may in the future contain online payment services, the City of Emporia will collect personal information, such as name, postal address, e-mail address and credit card number should you decide to use an online payment service.

Security Statement

The City of Emporia is highly sensitive to the privacy and security interests of its citizens and believes that the protection of those interests is one of its most important responsibilities. The City uses firewalls and other security technology to prevent its computers from being accessed by unauthorized persons. During the course of a credit card transaction on the website, all information submitted by a user is stored on a secured server. To perform services involving a credit card transaction, the City must, of course, pass information about the transaction to a user’s financial institution. The City will take reasonable steps to avoid causing this information to be shared with any other third party. This information shall not be construed as warranting the security of information provided via the City’s website.

Online Calendar

The City of Emporia will maintain complete editorial control over all material present on the online calendar, and reserves the right to change, add, or remove content without notice. Information posted on the online calendar is limited to those events occurring within the City of Emporia only, unless the event can be reasonably construed as significantly benefiting residents of the City of Emporia. Any posted event must meet the following criteria:

The primary function of organizations and person(s) sponsoring an event must not be inconsistent with the mission and vision of the City of Emporia.
The event must be an economic development, cultural, educational, sporting, or other community event.
The event must be available to the general public, unless otherwise restricted by federal or state law or local ordinance.
The online calendar will provide the following disclaimer:
To provide visitors with certain information, this website provides information about events hosted by organizations not affiliated with the City of Emporia. Posting the event does not constitute an endorsement of the content, viewpoint, accuracy, opinions, policies, products, services, or accessibility of that event or the hosting organization or person(s). Attendance to that event, or any other function or publication (electronic or print) produced or distributed by the hosting organization or person(s) is entirely at your own risk.

Provisions

Unsubscribe

At any time while accessing the City’s website, users may decline participation in any activity that asks for information (e.g., survey, email, ecommerce). Such choice will not affect the user’s ability to use all other features of the City’s website. If a user chooses to subscribe to or begins receiving information from a City email list serv, the user has the option to permanently unsubscribe from any City email list.

Public Notices

When the City places notices of items on its website, such as schedules for upcoming public meetings or hearings, it does so only to facilitate public access to such information, as a supplement to the legally required methods of posting notices.

Email to City Officers and Employees

Persons submitting email comments or questions to the City or to City officials or employees should be aware that the City cannot guarantee, nor does it represent that such communications will remain private or confidential. Similar to mailed or delivered comments, comments received via email may become subject to public disclosure under the California Public Records Act and/or part of the discovery procedure in a civil lawsuit.

Email Comments on Public Hearings

Comments on public hearing items that are submitted by email will become part of the official record of such proceedings. Persons wishing to comment on public hearing items should attend the public hearing and express themselves in person at the hearing, or if the notice of a particular hearing allows written comments, then comments may be submitted in that manner.

Protection of Minors

No application on the City of Emporia’s website specifically solicits information from minors or seeks 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 be email will be treated in the same manner as information given by an adult. This information may become a public record, and as such may be subject to public access. The City asks that parents guide their children when children are asked to provide personal information online.

Copyright

All City of Emporia website content is copyrighted 2023 City of Emporia, Kansas. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to download information from the website, so long as such information is not used for commercial purposes.

Accessibility Policy

It is the policy of the City of Emporia that information and services on this site are designed to be accessible to people with disabilities.

Permitted External Links

The City of Emporia website contains links to other websites as a convenience to the public and does not constitute an endorsement. The City of Emporia is not responsible for information contained on sites linked from any City of Emporia page and has not reviewed such for accuracy or legal sufficiency.

The City of Emporia permits the establishment of links to external websites on the City's official website solely in conformance with this policy. In the establishment and maintenance of its official website, the City does not intend in any manner to create a forum or other means by which public disclosure, exchange of opinions, or discussion on issues of any nature may occur. Rather, the sole and limited purpose of this City's website and permitted external links is to provide non- political and/or non-religious information of a factual nature about the City of Emporia including various services and resources available within and around the City, or as may be available from other government agencies.

The Emporia City Government website includes links to other websites, and the City is not responsible for the actions and policies of these third parties and recommends the privacy policies of each website be reviewed before supplying personally identifiable information.

External Link Application Process

Organizations and City staff requesting to establish external links to the City's website must submit an External Link Application Form to the City Manager’s Office. This form will contain all information necessary to verify the facts as stated and is necessary to establish that the proposed link is in compliance with this policy.

A. Consistent with the foregoing policy, it is the City's policy to limit external links to the following kinds of entities and organizations:

Sites that are owned and managed by a state, local or federal governmental agency, local public school, college board, or special district; or
Public Utilities; or
Sites that are maintained by a non-profit organization that supports the mission of the City; or
Sites that have a direct contractual relationship with the City for the provision of goods and/or services.

B. External links will not be made to sites that fall within any of the following criteria, as determined by the City Manager or their designee:

Sites that are owned or managed by a political party, candidate or special interest group or are of a political nature that are associated with, sponsored by or serving a candidate for elected office, any political party or organization supporting or seeking to defeat any candidate for elective office or ballot proposal; or
Sites that are owned, managed or provide content for commercial entities that do not have a direct contractual relationship with the City for the provision of goods and/or services; or
Sites containing any materials that may reasonably be considered scurrilous or offensive. Offensive materials are defined as sexual content or images, slurs against race, religious or political beliefs, age, gender, sexual orientation, national origin or physical attributes.

The City of Emporia reserves the right to:

deny an external link application to any person, business, or organization when it is determined, following review of a complete application, that the entity or organization for which application is made does not meet the criteria set forth in this policy; and
deny an external link application to any person, business or organization which fails to provide all required information or fails to provide truthful information.

Removal of External Link

The City Manager or their designee is authorized to remove any external link at their sole discretion or if the nature of the organization or business to which the link relates no longer complies with the City's external link policy; and discontinue an external link at any time if an entity’s website provides or promotes false, slanderous, illegal, immoral, offensive, or incorrect information at any time.

Prohibitions

Attempts to upload information or change information on the City of Emporia's website are strictly prohibited unless specifically authorized in writing by the City of Emporia City, City Manager’s Office. This prohibition does not apply to a user's submission of information via an on-line form created by the City of Emporia for that purpose.