Introduction
Thank you for visiting the Onondaga County (the “County”) Financial Operations Unit payment website. This website is designed to make it easier and more efficient for individuals, businesses and professionals to interact with the County. The County recognizes that it is important for individuals, businesses and professionals to be confident that their privacy is protected when they visit the County’s website.
Consistent with the provisions of the Internet Security and Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Law, the Personal Privacy Protection Law, and other federal, state and local laws, this policy describes the County’s privacy practices regarding information collected from users of this website. This policy describes what information is collected and how that information is used. Because this privacy policy only applies to this website, you should examine the privacy policy of any website, including other state agency website, that you access using this website.
For purposes of this policy, “personal information” means any information concerning a natural person which, because of name, number, symbol, mark, or other identifier, can be used to identify that natural person. The County does not collect any personal information about you during your visit to this website unless you provide that information voluntarily; for example, by sending such information in an email or by providing it in connection with an online transaction.
Information collected automatically when you visit this website
When visiting this website, the County automatically collects and stores the following information about your visit:
- The Internet Protocol (IP) address and domain name used, but not the email address. The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer;
- The type of browser and operating system used;
- The date and time you visited this site;
- The webpages or services you accessed at this site;
- Any form, publication or document which you downloaded; and
- Depending on how you access the County’s site, the County may also, on occasion, capture the website you visited prior to coming to the County’s website.
None of the foregoing information is deemed to constitute personal information.
The information that is collected automatically is used to improve this website's content and to help the County understand how users are interacting with the website. This information is collected for statistical analysis, to determine what information is of most and least interest to our users, and to improve the utility of the material available on the website. The information is not collected for commercial marketing purposes and the County is not authorized to sell or otherwise disclose the information collected from the website for commercial marketing purposes.
Cookies
The use of cookies is a standard practice among Internet websites. The County website uses cookies. Cookies are small files stored on your computer by your Web browser to provide a means of distinguishing among users of the website. The cookies the County utilizes do not contain personal information and do not compromise your privacy or security.
The software and hardware you use to access the website allows you to refuse new cookies or delete existing cookies. Refusing or deleting cookies may limit your ability to take advantage of some features of this website.
Information collected when you send the County an email or conduct an online transaction through this website
During your visit to this website, you may send an email to the County. Your email address and the contents of your message will be collected. Your email address and the information included in your message may be used to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to improve this website, to forward your message to another county or State agency for appropriate action, and/or to communicate with you regarding general information and County services. Your email address is not collected for commercial purposes and the County is not authorized to sell or otherwise disclose your email address for commercial purposes.
During your visit to this website you may conduct an online transaction. This includes, for example, filling out an online survey or order form or utilizing any of County’s online services. The information, including personal information, provided by you in conducting the transaction is used by the County to operate County programs, which include the provision of services and information. The information collected by the County may, to the extent permitted by law, be disclosed by the County for those purposes that may be reasonably ascertained from the nature and terms of the transaction in connection with which the information was submitted.
The County does not knowingly collect personal information from children or create profiles of children through this website. Users are cautioned, however, that the collection of personal information submitted in an email will be treated as though it was submitted by an adult, and may, unless exempted from access by federal or State law, be subject to public access. The County strongly encourages parents and teachers to be involved in children’s Internet activities and to provide guidance whenever children are asked to provide personal information online.
Information and choice
As noted above, the County does not collect any personal information about you during your visit to this website unless you provide that information voluntarily by sending an email or conducting an online transaction. This includes, for example, filling out an online survey or order form or utilizing any of the County’s online services. As a general matter, you may choose not to send an email, not to fill out a survey or online order form and/or not to utilize the County’s online services (some transactions may, however, be required by law to be conducted online, such as mandatory e-filing, through the County's online services). While your choice not to participate may limit your ability to receive specific services through this website, it will not usually prevent you from requesting services from the County by other means (e.g., by telephone or United States mail or similar delivery service) and will not normally have an impact on your ability to take advantage of other features of the website, including browsing or downloading publicly available information.
Disclosure of information collected through this website
The collection of information through this website and the disclosure of that information are subject to the provisions of the Internet Security and Privacy Act. The County will only collect personal information through this website or disclose personal information collected through this website if the user has consented to the collection or disclosure of such personal information. The voluntary disclosure of personal information to the County by the user, whether solicited or unsolicited, constitutes consent to the collection and disclosure of the information by the County for the purposes for which the user disclosed the information to the County, as was reasonably ascertainable from the nature and terms of the disclosure.
However, the County may collect or disclose personal information without user consent if the collection or disclosure is: (1) necessary to perform the statutory duties of the County, or necessary for the County to operate a program authorized by law, or authorized by state or federal statute or regulation; (2) made pursuant to a court order or by law; (3) for the purpose of validating the identity of the user; or (4) of information to be used solely for statistical purposes that is in a form that cannot be used to identify any particular person.
Further, the disclosure of information, including personal information, collected through this website is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law, the Personal Privacy Protection Law and other relevant Federal, state and local laws.
The County may disclose personal information to federal or state law enforcement authorities to enforce the County’s rights against unauthorized access or attempted unauthorized access to the County’s information technology assets.
Use of email
The County will regard provision of an email address by a site user, service or benefit recipient or application, a payer or payer representative (whether via electronic or paper submission), to constitute consent to communicate electronically. The County may use the email address to communicate general information and/or notice of County services. The County will never request that you provide sensitive personal information, such as social security numbers, taxpayer ID numbers, bank account numbers, PINs, user names, or passwords via email. An email from the County will be general in nature and if sensitive personal information needs to be communicated, the County will alert you to sign on to the secure Online Services area of the County website to access your secure account to receive or provide such information.
Retention of information collected through this website
The information collected through this website is retained by the County in accordance with the records retention and disposition requirements of the New York State Arts & Cultural Affairs Law. Information on the requirements of the Arts & Cultural Affairs Law may be found at http://www.archives.nysed.gov/records/mr_laws_acal57A.shtml. In general, the Internet services logs of the County, comprising electronic files or automated logs created to monitor access and use of County services provided through this website, are retained for at least three months. Information that you submit in an email or when you conduct an online transaction is retained in accordance with the records retention and disposition schedule established for the records of the program unit to which you submitted the information.
Access to and correction of personal information collected through this website
Any user may submit a request to the County’s privacy compliance officer to determine whether personal information pertaining to that user has been collected through this website. Any such request shall be made in writing to the address below and must be accompanied by reasonable proof of identity of the user. Reasonable proof of identity may include verification of a signature, inclusion of an identifier generally known only to the user, or similar appropriate identification. The address of the privacy compliance officer is:
ONONDAGA COUNTY
PRIVACY COMPLIANCE OFFICER -
RECORDS ACCESS OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF LAW
421 MONTGOMERY STREET, 10th Floor
SYRACUSE, NY 13202
The privacy compliance officer shall, within five (5) business days after the day of the receipt of a proper request: (i) provide access to the personal information; (ii) deny access in writing, explaining the reasons therefore; or (iii) acknowledge the receipt of the request in writing, stating the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied, which date shall not be more than thirty (30) days from the date of the acknowledgment.
In the event that the County has collected personal information pertaining to a user through the County website and that information is to be provided to the user pursuant to the user’s request, the privacy compliance officer shall inform the user of his or her right to request that the personal information be amended or corrected under the procedures set forth in section 95 of the Public Officers Law.
Confidentiality and integrity of personal information collected through this website
The County is committed to protecting personal information collected through this website against unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Consequently, the County limits access to personal information collected through this website to only those employees or subcontractors who need access to the information in the performance of their official duties. Employees and subcontractors who have access to this information follow appropriate procedures in connection with any disclosures of personal information.
In addition, the County has implemented procedures to safeguard the integrity of its information technology assets including, but not limited to, authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. These security procedures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day operations of this website as part of our continuing commitment to the security of electronic content as well as the electronic transmission of information.
For website security purposes and to maintain the availability of the website for all users, the County employs software to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise damage this website. For additional information concerning Security at the County’s website, see the County’s Security page.
Privacy Act notification
The County of Onondaga may collect and maintain personal information pursuant to federal laws governing certain tax and human services programs; and may require disclosure of social security numbers pursuant to federal law.
This information will be used to determine and administer eligibility and tax liabilities and, when authorized by law, for certain offset and exchange of information programs as well as for any other lawful purpose.
Failure to provide the required information may subject you to civil or criminal penalties, or both, under State and/or Federal Law.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this privacy policy should not be construed as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided via this website. |
