Privacy Statement
County of Bergen
Website Privacy Statement
Table of Contents:
A. Information Collected and How it is Used
B. Personal Information and E-mail Privacy Warning
C. Public Access to Information
This statement is designed to assist you in understanding how we collect, use, and safeguard information you provide to us so that you can make informed decisions when using the County of Bergen’s website. It will be continuously assessed against new technologies, business practices, and the needs of our visitors.
A. Information Collected and How it is Used
The County of Bergen's website collects information from you under the following two circumstances: (1) information collected and stored automatically on an aggregate basis as you browse our website; and (2) information voluntarily submitted that is collected on an individual basis.
Information Collected and Stored Automatically
If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the website, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store only the following information about your visit:
- The Internet domain (for example, “xcompany.com” if you use a private Internet access account, or “yourschool.edu” if you connect from a university’s domain) and IP 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 and operating system used to access our website;
- The date and time you accessed our website;
- The pages you visited; and
- If you linked to the County of Bergen website from another website, the address of that website.
We use this information to help us make our website more useful to visitors - to learn about the number of visitors to our website and the types of technology our visitors use. We do not track or record information about individuals and their visits. IP addresses are not linked to identifiable information.
If You Send Us Personal Information
If you choose to provide us with personal information; as in an e-mail, or by filling out a form with your personal information and submitting it to us through our website; we will use that information to respond to your message and to help us get you the information you have requested. We may share the information you give us with another County of Bergen, government agency, department, office, or entity if your inquiry is related, or as otherwise required by law. We do not create individual profiles with the information you provide or give it to any private organizations. The County of Bergen website does not collect information for commercial marketing or sell any information provided by users through this website to third parties.
If you choose to pay for fees or permits online through the TD Bank payment portal, any personal information you submit will be used solely to update our files to reflect that you have purchased a permit or submitted fees for a class, training, and/or any other permitted transaction available on the County of Bergen website. Credit card information is stored securely offline and will be used solely for administrative purposes (e.g., in the event that you wish to revise a particular credit card transaction).
The use of, and access to, your personal information is restricted to those employees who need to know that information to provide services or support to you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information.
B. Personal Information and E-mail Privacy Warning
You may choose whether to provide personal information online.
"Personal information" is information about a natural person that identifies a specific individual. Personal information includes such things as an individual's name, address, and phone number. A domain name or Internet protocol address is not considered personal information.
We collect no personal information about you unless you voluntarily provide it to us by sending us e-mail, participating in a survey, paying for a permit/class/fee online, or completing an online form. You may choose not to contact us by e-mail, participate in a survey, pay your permit/class/fee online, or provide any personal information using an online form. Your choice not to participate in these activities will not impair your ability to browse the County of Bergen’s website and read or download any information posted on the site.
E-mail Privacy Warning
E-mail is not a secure medium. Personal information sent via the Internet can be intercepted. You may, therefore, wish to reconsider the advisability of sending messages that contain highly sensitive, personal information to this Internet address. The County of Bergen has no intention of releasing “personal information” sent to us voluntarily, but may be required to do so pursuant to a request under the Right to Know law, the common law Right to Know, the Open Public Records Act, or other State or Federal law, or pursuant to court order. If you believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when you submitted it, please contact the individual shown in the "Contact Information" section of this privacy policy.
C. Public Access to Information
In the State of New Jersey, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by State or local government agencies. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public’s right to access public records that serve various needs including the privacy of individuals. Exceptions are provided in both State and Federal laws.
All the information collected on the County of Bergen’s website becomes public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by members of the public unless an exemption in law exists.
The County of Bergen website does not use cookies. Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by Internet websites to help identify users and customize user experience. Should the County of Bergen choose in the future to use cookies, they will not contain personally identifying information and will expire at the end of the web-surfing session or after a fixed period of time.
The County of Bergen, as developer and manager of this website has taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of its data and prevent unauthorized access to information maintained. These measures are designed and intended to prevent corruption of data, block unknown or unauthorized access to our systems and information, and to provide reasonable protection of private and personal information in our possession. This website takes every precaution to protect users' information. When users submit sensitive information via the website, their information is protected both online and offline. When we ask users to enter personal information (such as a credit card number), that information is encrypted and is protected with encryption software SSL (secure sockets layer). While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also protect user information offline.
The County of Bergen’s website and materials may contain hypertext or links to other Internet computer websites, which are not owned, operated, controlled, or reviewed by the County of Bergen. These links are provided solely as a courtesy and convenience to you, the visitor. When you link to one of these websites, you are no longer on the County of Bergen website and this privacy policy will not apply. When you link to another website, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new website.
The County of Bergen, its agencies, officers, or employees exercise no control over the organizations, views, accuracy, copyright, or trademark compliance or the legality of the material contained on those servers and does not sponsor, endorse, or approve the information, content, products, materials, opinions, or services contained on such external websites. The visitor proceeds to these external websites at their own risk. The County of Bergen specifically disclaims any and all liability from damages that may result from the accessing of a third-party website which is linked to the County of Bergen website, or from reliance upon any such information.
Unauthorized attempts to modify or otherwise alter any information or images stored on any County of Bergen website may result in criminal prosecution.
To offer comments about the County of Bergen website, or about this privacy statement:
County of Bergen
Division of Information Technology
One Bergen County Plaza, 5th Floor
Hackensack, New Jersey 07601
Phone: 201-336-6600
E-mail: hgoez@co.bergen.nj.us
Contact Us
Bergen County Executive
One Bergen County Plaza • 5th Floor, Rm 580 • Hackensack, NJ 07601-7076
Phone: 201-336-7300