Privacy Policy

Personally Identifiable Information on Casual Visitors Not Collected and Retained

Residents do not have to provide personally identifiable information to visit the County of St. Joseph, Michigan's Internet Portal to read or print information. Government agencies may request personally identifiable information from visitors in order to provide specific services that they request. Any information collected for that purpose would be only that which is necessary to provide those services and will be handled, as it would be on an in-person visit to a government office.

Some Unidentifiable Information Routinely Collected

In order to provide new services, design a more customer friendly site and facilitate access to it, the County of St. Joseph, Michigan may use statistical analysis of traffic on the site and web trend software. Information that is not personally identifiable such as IP (Internet Protocol) numbers, browser types and versions are collected and used for this purpose. The site does not attempt to associate this data with information that is personally identifiable.

Personally Identifiable Information Available On Governmental Web Sites

Information that is not confidential and is available during an in-person visit to a government office may be posted for electronic access through the County of St. Joseph, Michigan’s Internet portal.

Use of "Cookies"

Some the County of St. Joseph, Michigan applications may use "cookies". A cookie is a small data file that certain web sites write to your hard drive when you visit them. A cookie file can contain information such as a user ID that the site uses to track the pages you have visited. The only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply. A cookie is only a text file and cannot read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. Cookies can track user traffic patterns, recognize your computer's browser when you return and could provide personalized content without requiring sign in. You can refuse cookies by turning them off on your browser. The County of St. Joseph, Michigan will attempt to minimize the use of cookies. However, they may be required to use some of the web applications on the County of St. Joseph, Michigan site.

Use of Constituent E-Mail Addresses

E-mail addresses obtained as a result of a request to the County of St. Joseph, Michigan site will not be sold or given to other private companies for marketing purposes. E-mail or other information requests sent to the County of St. Joseph, Michigan web site may be maintained in order to respond to the request or to forward the request to the appropriate department. Individuals may be able to receive updates on issues important to them, but only if they choose that specific service. By choosing that service they do not automatically choose other services. Should they subsequently choose not to receive such informational updates via email they can remove themselves at any time.

Data Security and Quality

The County of St. Joseph, Michigan is committed to security and accuracy of personally identifiable data that is either available from or collected by governmental web sites, and has taken reasonable precautions to protect personally identifiable information from loss, misuse or alteration. The County of St. Joseph, Michigan maintains security standards and procedures regarding unauthorized access to customer information to prevent unauthorized removal or alteration of data. The County of St. Joseph, Michigan is dedicated to the right of citizen privacy and data security on the web. The County shall provide its users with a secure online experience by using a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of personally identifiable information. All user information shall be contained behind a "firewall" and only accessible by a limited number of employees who have special access rights to production systems. Password and credit card numbers shall be encrypted in a secure database located behind the "firewall".

Any third parties responsible for this information are committed to the same principles, and also are required by contract to follow the same policies and guidelines as the County of St. Joseph, Michigan in protecting this information. Unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law, rule or regulation, the individual has the right to have personally identifiable information that is inaccurate corrected.

Passwords and IDs

In some instances, the user may be required to receive or create an ID and password to access or submit personal information or to complete certain transactions.

Non County Web Sites

Various Web sites may be linked through the County of St. Joseph, Michigan Internet Portal. The links that appear on this web page are solely for the information of a reader of the page. The County of St. Joseph, Michigan does not endorse any particular viewpoint that appears on any web page that appears as a link on this page. The County of St. Joseph, Michigan makes every reasonable effort to assure that it does not link directly to web pages that contain obscene, scurrilous, or otherwise objectionable material. If you encounter objectionable material on this page or on any linked page, please notify the Webmaster of this site immediately.

Online Profiling

Online Profiling is the practice of aggregating information about residents' preferences and interests, gathered primarily by tracking their movements online, and using the resulting citizen profiles to create targeted content on Web sites. The County of St. Joseph, Michigan does not conduct or participate in online profiling.

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125 W. Main St.· P.O. Box 189 · Centreville, MI 49032