Policies

City websites may periodically prompt users to provide personal information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. When users provide such information, they do so voluntarily. Refusal to provide such information may affect access to information and services provided on the City's website.

When personal information is requested, it will be done through an SSL secured form. If you are requested to provide personal information on an unsecured form, please contact the webmaster immediately so that the form can be corrected (most browsers indicate a secure form by a 'closed lock' icon at the bottom of the screen or near the address bar).

Any and all information gathered by, or provided to the City through its websites shall be protected to the extent possible under current public records laws. Citizen information subject to such laws includes email sent to City staff through the City's websites. Disclosure of all or any part of that information may be required in response to an appropriate public records request or if compelled by legal process.

For statistical purposes our website will record the following information:

• The domain name of your Internet Service Provider, such as "xcompany.com" or "xcompany.net."
• Your Internet Protocol address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our website.
• The type of browser (such as "Internet Explorer version X" or "Firefox version X") that you are using.
• The type of operating system that you use (such as Macintosh, Unix or Windows).
• The date and time you visit our site, and the Web pages that you visit on our site.
• The address of the previous website you were visiting, if you linked to us from another website.

We use this information for statistical analysis, to help us make our site more useful to visitors.

Technologies such as cookies, beacons, tags and scripts are used by us and our analytics and other service providers (see Types of Third-Party Website and Applications on this site). These technologies are used in many ways, such as analyzing trends, administering and improving the Site, tracking users' movements around the Sites (including point of entry), measuring the success of a marketing campaign, providing improved customer service and providing more relevant content. Users can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level. Cookies are not used to collect personal information, to access your computer files or to gain control of your computer in any way.

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The City websites shall not contain advertising for the purpose of commercial gain. Periodically, in the interest of customer service, hyperlinks and web addresses to some organizations may be provided. Links may be provided only to organizations that:

• are local, state, federal, tribal, or other governments or agencies of them, or
• supplement an integral goal or mission of the city.

The City reserves the right to determine what links are provided from City websites. These links or references to other information or organizations do not constitute an endorsement by the city. The city is not responsible for the nature or accuracy of content or services on these non-City websites, including linked websites.

The city provides links to Google maps for the purpose of providing directions to a city facility or event. These maps are for the convenience of our site visitors and citizens. The city is not responsible for the information on those sites or any driving directions they may provide to access our city facilities. We recognize that there are many products available that provide free mapping services online. We chose just one product to use consistently on our website and have received permission to link to them. If you have another free online web mapping service that you prefer, you are welcome to look up the address on their service.

The city may provide links to social media websites as additional means for citizens to receive information from the City of Scottsdale. The city is not responsible for the nature or accuracy of content or services on these social media websites.

The city places greater priority on updating content on our city website (ScottsdaleAZ.gov) over updating social media tools. ScottsdaleAZ.gov should remain your primary online resource for City of Scottsdale information.

The city does not object to links from other sites to City websites, provided that:

1. no relationship with the city is implied or expressed by the link or the context in which the link appears, and
2. the link opens the city's website in a full browser window and not within the content of the linking site, such as in an HTML frame.

When you see an icon next to a link on the City website, it means the link leads to a site that is not a part of the City of Scottsdale.

The city retains copyright protection on all text, graphic images and other content in its websites. This means that, unless you obtain advance permission, you may not: distribute the text or graphics to others; "mirror" this information on your server; or modify or re-use the text or graphics.

You may print copies of the information for your own personal use, and you may refer to city websites in your own documents. Commercial use of city websites and content contained therein is prohibited without advance written permission of the city.

Trademarks not owned by the city that appear on this site are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by the city. Full rights are retained by the owners of those trademarks and service marks. To inquire about obtaining permission to use any materials from the city's website, contact the City Attorney's Office.

The city allows credit card payments through its website by adults over the age of 18 for Internet-enabled city services and programs. The city reserves the right to refuse service, terminate or suspend accounts or service or cancel transactions at any time.

Completion of a payment transaction is contingent upon both the authorization of payment by the applicable credit card company and acceptance of payment by city. In the event that your credit card payment is unable to be processed, the city will attempt to notify you using the contact information you have provided. In any event, you remain solely responsible for payments due.

City websites have been developed to provide a convenient method of accessing general information about city government and services. The documents and materials displayed on the websites are for information purposes only. Unless stated otherwise, documents and materials displayed on city websites, do not constitute legal public notice of any fact, activity or event. Users who wish to receive public notices and official city documents should request them directly from the office of the City Clerk.

Since the materials and documents available on city websites are for general informational purposes and for the convenience of the public, the city makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or operation of these sites or the information, content, materials, products or service they contain. The city (as well as its officers, directors and employees) will not be liable for damages of any kind arising from the use of this site, regardless of the cause.

The city reserves the right to make available or remove content and services from city websites as deemed necessary by city staff.

In an effort to provide greater customer service, some of our online services require a password. We do this where customers need to access personal accounts, provide personal information to support business transactions, or where for public safety reasons, we need the ability to review activity. By having you register as a customer we can allow you to access these services quickly and efficiently.

Once you have registered, you will only need to provide your email address and password the first time you are prompted during a visit to the website. After that, you can access all of our services including the "Registered Customer" services without logging in again.

Examples of Registered services:

• Utility Billing
• Digital water and sewer maps

All information you provide as a Registered Customer will be protected accordingly to applicable laws regarding the use of personal information, public records laws, as well as the balance of our website policies.

Any comment or feedback collected via the city's website, email, social networks or other online/electronic tools is intended to gather authentic response and opinions from individual residents and/or customers. Attempts to improperly manipulate, influence or exploit these via automatic or other methods will be discarded and may disqualify all associated feedback.

Social Media

The primary purpose of the city's use of social media tools is to communicate news, events and information to residents, businesses, visitors and other interested parties. If a social media tool accepts comments, please note that it will be considered a moderated online discussion site and not a public forum. Where moderation of comments is an available option, comments may be moderated by City of Scottsdale staff prior to publishing. Where monitoring prior to posting is not an option, sites will be regularly monitored by city staff.

The city reserves the right to delete submissions that contain vulgar language, personal attacks of any kind, or offensive comments that target or disparage anyone on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Comments on social media posts are to be limited to the specific topic of that particular post. Some social media posts may be created for information only, without the ability to comment. The city may close comments on a social media post after its informational value is served.

In addition, the city also reserves the right to delete comments that:

• Are not directly related to the topic raised for discussion
• Contain obscene, indecent or profane language or images
• Advocate illegal activity
• Appear to violate the intellectual property rights of the city or third parties under federal or state law copyrights or trademarks
• Make direct threats
• Contain spam, advertising or include links to other sites
• Contain personally identifiable information or sensitive personal information
• Promote, solicit, or endorse particular services or products
• Advocate for/against, promote, or endorse a political campaign, candidate, or ballot measure
• Contain information that interferes with or compromises ongoing investigations, the safety of public safety officers or the safety or security of the public or security systems

Comments to our posts on social media sites do not reflect the opinions and position of the city of Scottsdale or its officers and employees. The City of Scottsdale is not responsible or liable for comments or feedback posted by any subscriber to our social media tools.

Comments and direct messages on social media sites are subject to disclosure under public records laws.

Please be warned that use of social media websites may increase your exposure to viruses. Be sure to protect your personal information by customizing the privacy settings of each social networking site you choose to join. The city places greater priority on updating content on our city website (ScottsdaleAZ.gov) over updating social media tools. ScottsdaleAZ.gov should remain your primary online resource for City of Scottsdale information.

Our goal is to provide maximum access for all users of the city's website.

The city uses a web content management system for the public site which produces content that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act using standards set forth in Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C).

Contact
Site users who encounter difficulty using ScottsdaleAZ.gov are encouraged to contact the City Webmaster describing the nature of the problem and the section where the difficulty was encountered.