Privacy Policy

Last updated March 2024

The Village of Silverton Values Your Privacy

This “Privacy Policy” outlines how your personally identifiable information (your “Visitor Information”) may be collected, used, and shared in connection with your access to and/or visitation or use of our websites: https://silvertonohio.us/, www.tasteofsilverton.com, or any other application or website owned and operated by, or on behalf of, the Village of Silverton, (herein collectively referred to as the “Site”), as well as what information we may collect through any third-party application or third-party sites, social networks, or social media sites (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, etc., collectively “Applications”). This Privacy Policy also describes your choices and rights regarding the use, access, and correction or deletion of your Visitor Information. By visiting our Site, you consent to the use of your Visitor Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. You may also be asked to provide clear and unequivocal affirmative consent to the collection, processing, and sharing of your Visitor Information via opt-in procedures.

This Site is owned and operated by the Village of Silverton, and its subsidiaries (herein collectively referred to as the “Village of Silverton,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), and this Privacy Policy only applies to Visitor Information obtained by the Village of Silverton in connection with or related to your use of the Site. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected by us offline or through other means, including on any other website or platform operated by us or any third party (including our affiliates and subsidiaries), including through any Application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible from, or on, our Site. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your personal information and how we will treat it. By accessing or using this Site, you agree to this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy may change from time to time and your continued use of this Site means that you are consenting to be bound by the most recently updated version of this Privacy Policy.

Data Collection

General Information We Collect and How We Use It

We collect Visitor Information when you use our Site. Sometimes you may submit it to us yourself, other times it may be collected automatically. Our handling of your Visitor Information is generally limited to improving the content of our web services, understanding how people use our services, and handling and resolving general inquiries. You are not required to provide the Village of Silverton the personal data that we request, but if you choose not to do so, we may not be able to provide you with our services, or with a high quality of service or respond to any inquiries you may have.

All information collected on the Village of Silverton website will be treated the same as any written communication and is subject to the appropriate confidentiality and public disclosure provisions.

Information Collected When You Use Our Site

Your Visitor Information may be collected, used, and shared. As detailed below, the type of Visitor Information collected may vary based on how it was gathered, but may include, among other things, your name, email address, phone number, address, and other information that you voluntarily submit (e.g., when you sign up to receive electronic communications, complete an electronic filing form, or fill out a survey), information automatically collected about your usage of our Site that does not include personally identifiable information (e.g., the content that you choose to view and how you interact), and information about you that third parties may share with us if such third parties have previously received your consent to do so. In general, your Visitor Information means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer, household, or device. It does not include (i) publicly available information from government records; (ii) de-identified or aggregate information; or (iii) certain other personal data protected by other sector-specific state or federal laws.

Moreover, we automatically collect certain information when you visit, use or navigate the Site. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use our and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our Site, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.

Most web browsers, and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications, include a Do-Not-Track (“DNT”) feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. At this stage, no uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this Privacy Policy.

The Village of Silverton does not collect or process any data on the Site regarding the following: race or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or philosophical beliefs; trade union memberships; genetic or biometric data; health or mortality; or sexual orientation.

We may collect several categories of information from and about users of our Site, including:

Identity and Contact Information – We may collect or use this information, including your first name, last name, and email address.
Technical Data and Unique Device Identifiers – We collect IP addresses, operating system information, links clicked, pages visited, browser type, time zone setting, browser plug-in types, and referring websites of visitors to our Site (when possible).
Non-Identifying Information – We collect information that is about you but does not individually identify you, such as aggregate information about pages visited, length of time spent on our Site and its webpages, etc.

On our Site, we may collect your Visitor Information through various means, including through:

Interactive application plugins;
Social media or submission plugins; and
Web-tracking and website analytics technologies, such as cookies and web beacons.

Voluntary Submission

The Village of Silverton collects Visitor Information that is voluntarily provided by you or with your permission. All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete, and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information. You always have the option not to provide the information we request. If you choose not to provide the information we request, you can still visit the Site, but you may be required to provide your information by other means if we need such information to provide our services to you.

Email Subscribers

The Village of Silverton collects, retains, and utilizes the email address of Site visitors only when they volunteer to subscribe to document folders on the municipality’s Site. The information is used to administer subscriber accounts and to provide documents requested by Email Subscribers. Records containing personal information about Email Subscribers are confidential and may only be released with the express written permission of the subscriber.

Electronic Form Filers

Any other information provided by a visitor at the request of the Village of Silverton, such as the completion and electronic filing of a form, will be considered to be voluntarily provided by the visitor and will be treated in the same manner as information provided in written form or in person during a visit to the agency. Information provided may be subject to public inspection and legal disclosure and may be saved for a period of time before it is destroyed.

Surveys

Surveys will be used for the purpose stated. If personally identifiable information is collected, it may be subject to public inspection and legal disclosure and may be saved for a period of time before it is destroyed.

Our Third-Party Vendors

Google Analytics is a web analysis service provided by Google Inc. (“Google”). Google utilizes the Visitor Information collected to track and examine the use of this Site, to prepare reports on its activities and share them with other Google Services. You can access Google’s privacy policy here:

Web Beacons

Our web pages may contain electronic images known as web beacons (invisible images often referred to as pixel tags or clear GIFs) on the Site in order to recognize users, assess traffic patterns, identify preferred content, and measure Site engagement. We may also include web beacons in our e-mail messages in order to count how many e-mail messages have been opened, for example.

Some of these web beacons may also be placed by third-party service providers to help determine the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. These web beacons may be used by third-party service providers to place a persistent cookie on your computer. This allows the service provider to recognize your computer each time you visit certain web pages and compiles anonymous information in relation to those page views, which in turn enables us and our third-party service providers to learn which advertisements bring you to our website and how you use the Site.

Log Files

Our servers log information about your IP address, your browser type, and the current URL you are requesting. This information is always provided by your browser and automatically logged. These log files are stored in a secure location and used in our internal analysis of traffic patterns.

Cookies and Similar Tools

Like many businesses, we also collect information through cookies and similar technologies. A cookie is a small data file that is written to a computer’s hard drive by a web browser. A cookie file can contain and/or automatically collect information, such as a user identification code or IP address that a website will use to track the pages and number of times you have visited. The data read from these cookies may be linked to personally identifying (PII) and non-personally identifying (non-PII) information. We may collect and use non-PII to help us improve our services, customize your experience and analyze use of our services. This Privacy Policy does not limit our use or disclosure of collected non-PII. We reserve the right to collect, use and disclose such non-PII to our partners, advertisers and other third parties at our sole discretion.

We and our partners may use cookies and similar technologies on the Site to personalize and optimize your browsing experience by: providing you tailored content, enabling social media features, safeguarding against spam and malware, analyzing trends, traffic, and user behavior, administering the website, gathering demographic information about our user base as a whole, tracking web and advertising analytics throughout the Site, remembering preferences and voluntarily-submitted information (e.g. name, email), performing location-related functionalities and analytics, participating in market research (e.g., website ratings), and educating the Village of Silverton about how the Site can continue to be improved. You may turn off cookies in your browser or have your browser warn you before accepting cookies. If you choose to turn off cookies, you may not be able to experience all of the features on our Site.

Cookies fall into the subcategories below.

Essential Cookies. Certain cookies are used for specific purposes that are essential to your secure use and navigation of the Site. Without them, the Village of Silverton may not be able to provide core Site functions and features to you, and the Site would not operate as well as you or the Village of Silverton would like. These cookies collect and use information such as your server preferences, single-session data and corresponding identifier, web beacons and log files, and other credential-related information. Essential cookies also help inform the Village of Silverton whether you require, or have already been served, an affirmative consent request in connection with our data policies. Essential cookies also include analytics cookies, which provide us data that allows the Village of Silverton to better understand its users and improve the Site based on what we have learned from that data.

Preference Cookies. Other cookies are used to collect and process information about your preferences and similar choices in connection with the Site in order to optimize your browsing experience. Preference cookies include social media cookies, which collect information about your social media usage and other data you may have provided in connection with such usage (if you access the Site through a social media website or mobile application, you may have social media cookies). If you wish to modify or change your social media cookies, please visit the appropriate social media website and review the settings related to your applicable social media account(s).

Advertising Cookies. To help support the Site and further tailor your experience, the Village of Silverton and certain of our third-party providers may also use cookies on the Site to personalize the content you may be shown. Some advertisements may use advertising cookies to provide targeted advertisements that may be more consistent with your interests than non-targeted advertisements. The Village of Silverton does not provide user information to third parties except in connection with the Site or as required by law.

Analytics

Services providing analytic tools (“Analytic Services”), including without limitation Google Analytics®, may be used with the Site, which transmit website traffic data to servers in the United States. Analytic Services do not collect personal information, identify individual users, or associate your IP address with any other data. We do not share any personally identifiable information with our Analytic Services in connection with their performing of any services on our Site. We use reports provided by Analytic Services to help us understand website traffic and webpage usage. Each of these services has their own privacy policy that you should refer to.

Third-Party Websites

The Site may contain links to websites not owned or controlled by the Village of Silverton. We do not have any control over these third-party websites and do not endorse them. We encourage you to be aware of third-party websites and their privacy policies, as we are not responsible for privacy policies or practices of third-party websites. Please review the privacy policy of each website you visit before you submit any personal information to any of these websites.

Data Usage

Use of Your Information

We collect, process and disclose your Visitor Information only for specific and limited purposes.

Our primary goal in collecting, using, and sharing Visitor Information is to enhance your experience on the Site, support the Site, and improve its features, performance, and other elements. We will not use your Visitor Information without a valid legal basis to do so, and we will only process your Visitor Information in a way that is compatible with and relevant to the purpose for which it was collected and authorized.

Your Visitor Information may be used for the purposes outlined below.

To Facilitate and Improve Our Services

To respond to general inquiries and to provide customer support when needed, we collect and/or use Visitor Information, including your first and last name, and email address. Additionally, your Visitor Information may be used to present the Site and its content to you, request feedback, and for any other purpose with your consent.

To Provide Communications to You

From time to time, we may provide e-mails highlighting new features, promotions, or content on the Site to those users who have expressly provided us with their permission to send such communications. For instance, we may communicate with you by email in response to your inquiries or send you service-related announcements based on Visitor Information you provide to us. We may also use your Visitor Information to send you updates and other promotional communications with your consent. If you no longer wish to receive email updates, you may opt-out at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Note that unsubscribing from our emails will not prevent you from receiving transactional emails relating to support, or service requests.

As Necessary to Provide Information or Services

We may occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as handling the processing of information submitted on the Site, the delivery of any mailings or correspondence, or performing statistical analysis of our services (the “Provided Services”). We provide those companies the information they need to deliver the service. In some instances, these companies may collect information directly from you and you will be notified of the involvement of the external service provider. Such companies are subject to agreements that require them to maintain the confidentiality of your information and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose. We reserve the right to not track how you interact with any of the Provided Services.

Sharing of Information

You may be requested to voluntarily provide certain Visitor Information during your use of our Site. If you choose to do so, that Visitor Information may be shared with the Village of Silverton and its affiliates as well as business partners and vendors providing hosting and other web-based services for the Village of Silverton.

The Village of Silverton may use third parties to provide e-mail messaging, account management and hosting services for the Site. When you sign up for services, we will share your Visitor Information as necessary for the third party to provide that service. These third parties are prohibited from using your Visitor Information for any other purpose. If you do not want your information to be shared, you can choose not to allow the transfer of your information by not using that particular service.

In the Event of Change in Ownership or Control

The ownership or control of the Site may change at some point in the future. Should that occur, we want this Site and/or the Village of Silverton to be able to maintain a relationship with you. In the event of a change in ownership, merger, bankruptcy or change in control of the Village of Silverton, your information may be shared with the person or business that owns or controls this Site. You will be notified as described below in “Changes to Privacy Policy.” Opting out of receiving information from third parties will not affect our right to transfer your information to a new owner, but your choices will continue to be respected regarding the use of your information.

As Required By Law

The Village of Silverton may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law, such as to comply with a subpoena or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to conform to the edicts of the law, investigate fraud or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on the Village of Silverton, or to protect and defend the rights or property of the Village of Silverton.

Data Protection and Retention

How We Protect Your Information

The Village of Silverton takes the security of your Visitor Information seriously. We use commercially reasonable efforts to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. However, it must be noted that “perfect security” does not exist today, and we cannot and do not guarantee the privacy or security of any Visitor Information.

How We Store Your Information

Your information may be stored on servers owned and operated by the Village of Silverton, its subsidiaries, and its affiliates or by cloud or hosting service providers located in the United States. We will only keep your Visitor Information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting or other legal requirements).

Privacy Rights and Considerations

EU Residents

The Village of Silverton does not actively target or market to any EU member state and does not, to its knowledge, process or control any EU personally identifiable information.

Children’s Online Privacy Information

Our Site is not designed for persons under the age of thirteen (“13”). We are not responsible for any access or use of the Site by children or minors under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13, we will delete that information. By using the Site, you represent that you are at least 18 years of age.

Revisions and Updates

Changes to Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy notice from time to time as necessary to reflect customer feedback, changes in our services, and changes in the law. The updated version will be indicated by a revised “Last updated” date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible.

If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by means of a notice on this Site prior to the change becoming effective. We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy at our discretion and at any time. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices and to review our most current Privacy Policy. Your continued use of our Site following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes.

Contact

Contacting Data Controller

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or your user information or related consents, please feel free to contact us by the e-mail or the mailing address below:

The Village of Silverton

Office of the Village Clerk

6943 Montgomery Road

Silverton, OH 45236

Attention: Clerk of Council

By Phone: (513) 936-6240

By Fax: (513) 996-0026

By Email: mgeorge@silvertonohio.us