Privacy Policy

Introduction
The City of Middletown is dedicated to providing efficient and secure e-government services.  The following policy addresses the collection, use, and security of all information obtained or processed by the City of Middletown from web site users.  Industry-accepted technologies are used to safeguard all personally identifiable and sensitive information, as protecting the privacy of web site users is a priority.   The City of Middletown reserves the right to make changes to this web site (including, without limitation, discontinuing this web site or the services offered on this site) and any associated terms and conditions at any time, with or without notice.
 
Your Account with the City of Middletown: Usage Policy
All websites operated by the City of Middletown require the involvement of a parent or guardian for those under the age of 18. 

When registering to use this site, filing an application, contacting the City of Middletown, participating in e-commerce, or other use of this site, you agree to provide accurate and complete information, and, in the case of registration or accounts, to keep this information current and complete. By using any function of the City of Middletown web site, you agree to be bound by these Legal Notices (“Notices”) and all other terms and conditions posted on the sites provided by the City of Middletown or affiliated financial institutions or businesses.  You agree that the laws of the State of Ohio and the City of Middletown, without regard to its principles of conflict of laws, will govern these statements, terms, and conditions and any dispute of any sort that might arise between you and the City of Middletown concerning this web site, your use of this web site, your obligations to the City of Middletown or an affiliated financial institution or business and their obligations to you.

By using this website, you agree to be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your personal information, including any account number and password, and for restricting access to your computer.  You further agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password. You should notify the City of Middletown immediately if you believe there has been an unauthorized use of your account or password or any other breach of this site's security. 

All websites operated by The City of Middletown reserve the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, remove or edit content, or cancel purchases at its sole discretion, on all web sites operated by the City.

Data Collection
By visiting the City of Middletown web site, you have provided us with certain information.  The City of Middletown does collect information about visitors including the type of browser and operating system you use, the date and time you visited the site, the web pages or services you accessed, and the web site you visited prior to coming to the City of Middletown web site for analytical and statistical purposes to help better manage the site.  Software programs allow the City to compile this information and determine the most interesting parts of the web site, the most effective e-services, and any problem areas.   

Cookies
Cookies are pieces of information generated by our web server and stored on your computer to enable certain transactions such as personalizing your account with the City of Middletown, participating in e-commerce, signing up for an on-line newsletter, or other e-government service.  The cookie randomly generates a unique session identification number so that we can process your request.  Cookies are not used to identify individual users or to track online activities.  Although it may alter the quality of your service, you may block cookies or remove cookies through your browser settings or simply wait for the cookies to expire.

Sending E-mail
This web site and the e-mail addresses provided are in the public domain. Any messages sent to City officials are subject to public review.

E-Commerce
Your opportunity to do business with the City of Middletown via the Internet will continue to increase in the future.  E-commerce transactions are allowed only under tightly controlled circumstances, where the appropriate technological and other safeguards are in place to protect your personal and payment information, provided that your browser is properly configured and your computer is operating properly.  This encrypted information is shared only with designated banks and credit card clearinghouses, all of which also operate secured servers.  Each e-commerce web site controlled by the City of Middletown includes more specific information about the particular safeguards and terms and conditions you must abide by while using that particular e-commerce site.   

Disclosure to Third Parties
The City will not rent, sell, or distribute any personally identifiable information entered into the website (name, address, phone number, etc…) or electronic mail address to any third party for marketing or mailing list purposes.  Your credit card information will not be disclosed for any reason except those related to your transaction or as required by law.  

Public Access to Information
In the State of Ohio, the public’s right to access public records and government information is balanced by the individuals’ right to privacy.  Ohio Revised Code §§1347 and 149.43 protect the use of and public access to personal information.  ORC § 149.43 also prohibits the commercial use of public record. 

If you believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose beyond what was intended when submitted it, you should contact the City of Middletown Customer Service line at (513) 425-7730 immediately.       

Review and Correction of Personally Identifiable Information
To review or correct factual errors in your personally identifiable information, contact the City of Middletown Customer Service line at (513) 425-7730  You may also directly contact the Department that requested your information if it is listed at.

Security
The City of Middletown is committed to safeguarding the integrity of it database and ensuring that this service remains available to all users.  The City of Middletown monitors network traffic through commercial software designed to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise damage the system.  Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable by law.  Reasonable steps have been taken to protect private information, but this policy should not be construed as warranting a fail proof security system. 

Intellectual Property
All content on this web site, including text, graphics, logos, button icons and images, is the property of or licensed by the City of Middletown and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. The selection, arrangement, and presentation of all materials on this web site (including information in the public domain), and the overall design of this web site is the exclusive property of the City of Middletown and is protected by United States and international copyright laws.

All City of Middletown graphics, logos, page headers, button icons, scripts and service names are trade dress of City of Middletown.  Such trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service that in any manner disparages or discredits City of Middletown, its products or services, this web site or any third parties.

License and Site Access
The City of Middletown grants you a non-exclusive limited license to access and use this site only for its intended purpose.  This non-exclusive limited license does not authorize any user of this site to download (other than page caching) or modify it, or any portion of it, except with the express written consent of City of Middletown. This license does not include any right to resell or make commercial use of this site or its contents; any derivative use of this site or its contents; any downloading or copying of account information for the benefit of another merchant; or any use of data mining, robots or similar data gathering and extraction tools. This site or any portion of this site may not be reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, resold, visited, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose without the express written consent of City of Middletown. You may not interfere with or disrupt the services of City of Middletown or the servers or networks connected to these services. You may not collect or store personal data about other users of this web site. Any unauthorized use or attempts to use this Web site in an unauthorized manner terminates the permission or license granted by City of Middletown.  Any use of this Web site for unauthorized purposes or violation of the terms of this notice may subject you to criminal penalties and/or civil liability for damages, brought by the City of Middletown.

LEGAL NOTICES FOR
THE CITY OF MIDDLETOWN
ON-LINE BILL PAYMENT SYSTEM

Services
Middletown’s On-Line Bill Payment System allows you to:

• Inquire on your account balance,
• View your payment history,
• Make current on-line payments

Privacy and Security Statement
All e-transactions are governed by the “Privacy and Security Statement” located on the City of Middletown web page at http://www.cityofmiddletown.org.  The City of Middletown does not collect information concerning browser or site usage for statistical purposes.  The City of Middletown uses the information you provide about yourself to access your account and verify your identity when paying your bill. The City of Middletown does not share, sell or provide this information to any outside parties, except to the extent necessary to process your credit card payment. The City of Middletown may use your e-mail address to communicate with you, for example, to notify you of problems with your account or your credit card.

Because your privacy is important, The City of Middletown has installed safeguards to secure the credit card information we collect online. This e-commerce site uses  Secured Socket Layer (SSL) certificate encryption technology supported by Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator/Communicator, Opera and other popular browsers to protect your online transactions. SSL certificates encrypts your information before it travels over the Internet.  However, despite these precautions, The City of Middletown can not guarantee that information may not be obtained by a third party which is able to use technology or other means to circumvent these safe guards. In such a case, The City of Middletown will not be liable for the release of such information. The City of Middletown will also not be liable for the inadvertent release of such information through some other means.

Terms and Conditions
If you visit or use this web site, you accept these terms and conditions. Please read them carefully. In order to use the services offered on this web site, you must obtain access to the World Wide Web, either directly or through devices that access web-based content, and pay any service fees associated with such access. In addition, you must provide all equipment necessary to make such connection to the World Wide Web, including a computer and modem or other access device.