Disclaimer of Liability
Neither the County of Contra Costa, nor any of its agencies nor any of its employees shall be held liable for any improper or incorrect use of the information described and/or contained herein and assumes no responsibility for anyone's use of the information. In no event shall the County or its employees be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement or substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this system, even if advised of the possibility of such damage. This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury, including but not limited to those caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of record, whether for breach of contract, tortious behavior, negligence or under any other cause of action.

Disclaimer of Warranties And Accuracy of Data
Although the data found using the County of Contra Costa's access systems have been produced and processed from sources believed to be reliable, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of any information. This disclaimer applies to both isolated and aggregate uses of the information. The County provides this information on an "as is" basis. All warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, freedom from contamination by computer viruses and non-infringement of proprietary rights are disclaimed. Changes may be periodically made to the information herein; these changes may or may not be incorporated in any new version of the publication. If you have obtained information from any of the County's web pages from a source other than the County pages, be aware that electronic data can be altered subsequent to original distribution. Data can also quickly become out of date. It is recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of any data associated with a file, and that the originator of the data or information be contacted with any questions regarding appropriate use. If you find any errors or omissions, we encourage you to report them to www.co.contra-costa.ca.us.

Disclaimer of Endorsement
The County of Contra Costa may be a distributor of content sometimes supplied by third parties and users. Any opinions, advice, Statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers, users, or others, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the County of Contra Costa and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the County.

Disclaimer for External Links
The County of Contra Costa is not responsible for the contents of any off-site pages referenced. The user specifically acknowledges that the County is not liable for the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of other users, links, or third parties and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with the user. Links from the County of Contra Costa's web pages on the World Wide Web to other sites do not constitute an endorsement from the County. These links are provided as an information service only. It is the responsibility of the web surfer to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from other sites. The County's Web Pages may contain links to other related World Wide Web Internet sites and resources. Since the County's Web Pages are not responsible for the availability of these outside resources or their contents, you should direct any concerns regarding any external link to its site administrator or webmaster.

Disclaimer of Duty to Continue Provision of Data
Due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, resources that are free and publicly available one day may require a fee or restricted access the next, and the location of items may change as menus, homepages, and files are reorganized. The user expressly agrees that use of the County's web site is at the user's sole risk. The County does not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted or error free. The documents and related graphics published on this server could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. The County and/or its respective agencies and programs may make improvements and/or changes in the information and/or programs described herein at any time.


Contra Costa County Privacy Notice

County of Contra Costa rules and regulations exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by County government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records provided by County, State and Federal laws. These exceptions include the privacy of individuals. Information collected at this site becomes public record and may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exception in law exists. During your visit to Contra Costa County information that is not readily identifiable to an individual may automatically collected and stored. This information would be used solely to improve our web services. For more detail on our privacy policy, please see the expanded statement following.

Information that may be Collected and How it may be used

If you do nothing during your visit to the Contra Costa County Web site but browse or download information, we may automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

1. The Internet Protocol 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. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you;

2. The type of browser and operating system you used and your connection speed;

3. The date and time you visited this site;

4. The web pages or services you accessed at this site; and

5. The web site you visited prior to coming to this web site.

The information we may automatically collect or store would be used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. Contra Costa County analyzes our web site logs to continually improve the value of the materials available on our site. Our web site logs are not personally identifiable, and we make no attempt to link them with the individuals that browse the Contra Costa County Web site.

If during your visit to Contra Costa County, you participate in a survey or send an email, the following additional information will be collected:

1. E-mail correspondence: The e-mail address and contents of the e-mail;

2. Surveys: Any information you volunteered in response to a survey.

The information collected may not be limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic information formats you send us. The information is retained in accordance with the Contra Costa County rules and regulations.

We may use your email to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our web site, or to forward the email to another agency for appropriate action. Survey information would be used for the purpose designated.

Personal Information and Choice

"Personal information" is information about an individual that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes personal identifiers such as an individual's name, address, and phone number. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information.

We would not collect personal information about you unless you voluntarily participate in an activity that asks for information (i.e. sending an e-mail or participating in a survey). If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of Contra Costa's Web site.

If personal information is requested on the web site or volunteered by the user, County rules and regulations, the State's Information Practices Act of 1977 or the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information is a public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by above mentioned legal references.

Users are cautioned that the collection of personal information requested from or volunteered by children on-line or by email will be treated the same as information given by an adult and may be subject to public access.

Public Disclosure

In the County of Contra Costa, rules and regulations exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by County government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records that serve various needs: the privacy of individuals is included among these exceptions. Exceptions are provided by County, State and Federal laws.

We strive to protect personally identifiable information by collecting only information necessary to deliver our services. All information that may be collected at this site becomes public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists.

In the event of a conflict between this Privacy Notice and the Contra Costa County Board Ordinance 95-6 or other legal entity governing the disclosure of records, the Contra Costa County Board Ordinance or other applicable law will control.

Access and Correction of Personal Information

You can review any personal information we collect about you. You may recommend changes to your personal information you believe in error by submitting a written request that credibly shows the error. If you believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when submitted, you may contact us. In all cases, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections. See Contact Information section.


Cookies

What is a Cookie?

A cookie is a small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier, that is sent to your browser from a web site's computers and may either be used only during your session (a "session" cookie) or may be stored on your computer's hard drive (a "persistent" cookie). Cookies can contain data about user movement during the visit to the web site. If your browser software is set to allow cookies, a web site can send its own cookie to you.

Why are Cookies Used on Web Sites?

Cookies are one mechanism for maintaining continuity during a user's visit to a web site. They allow data to be maintained for users' benefit as they navigate a site. This is referred to as "session" or "management" cookie. These cookies go away when you terminate your visit to the web site as they are maintained only in your browser's active memory during your session. Cookies may be also be stored on your computer so that you can be recognized by a web site on subsequent visits. They can be read by the web site that set them whenever you enter the web site. They are often used on web sites that require you to login in order to save you from entering all of your log-in information. They may store information on your unique identifier and the areas of the web site you have visited before. These cookies are stored on your computer's hard drive after you have left your web site visit and consequently are often referred to as "persistent" cookies.

Choices about Cookies

You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. (Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.)

Contra Costa County Practices Regarding Cookies

Presently, Contra Costa County would only use session cookies. The information on these cookies would be retained by the County only while the user's session is active in a table that lists the unique identifiers of those currently using the site.

Security

The County has taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day practices of the entire operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to risk management.

This information should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice. This information should not be construed as warranting as fail-proof the security of information provided through County supported web sites.

Disclaimer

Contra Costa County has links to other web sites. These may include links to web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When you link to another site, you are no longer on Contra Costa County and this Privacy Notice will not apply. When you link to another web site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.

Contra Costa County Contact Information

To offer comments about Contra Costa County web sites, or to comment about the information presented in this Privacy Notice, please contact us.