Privacy Policy

SB 80- effective July 1, 2006

Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone at 941-932-9400 or in writing to City of Bradenton, 101 Old Main Street, Bradenton, FL 34205.

The protection of individual privacy is a concern to the City of Bradenton, and is governed by the State of Florida.  The City of Bradenton has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate its firm commitment to privacy.  The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for this site.

Information collected and stored automatically

If all you do during your visit is 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. Only the following information is automatically collected and stored 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 from which you access our website. (An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web);
  • The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
  • The date and time you access our site;
  • The pages you visit; and
  • If you linked to our website from another website, the address of that website.

We use this information to help us make the site more useful to visitors, to learn about the number of visitors to our site, and the types of technology our visitors use. We do not track or record information about individuals and their visits.

 

City of Bradenton Official City Seal

The City of Bradenton's official city seal is protected by Florida Statute (FS 165.043) and by City Ordinance #3052.It is a second-degree misdemeanor to use the municipal seal, except by municipal officials or employees in the performance of their official duties.

 

If you send us personal information

If you choose to provide us with personal information -- by filling out a form with your personal information and submitting it to us through the website -- we will use your data to help us get you the information or provide you the service you have requested. We only share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency, or as otherwise required by law. The City of Bradenton does not collect information for commercial marketing.

Protection of Minors

We are especially concerned about protecting children's privacy. We hope parents are involved in children's Internet explorations. It is particularly important for parents to guide their children when children are providing personal information online. We specifically ask children to get their parents' permission before providing any information on line -- at our site or any other site -- and recommend parents always be involved in those decisions. Most importantly, when children do provide information through the City of Bradenton website, it is only used to enable us to respond to the writer, and not to create profiles of children.

Public Disclosure

As a general rule, the City does not disclose any personally identifiable information collected online except where you have given us permission, or where the information is requested to be disclosed and is public information under the State of Florida statutes or other applicable laws. Visitors to the site should be aware that Florida Statute 119 declares that it is the policy of this state that all state, county, and municipal records shall be open for personal inspection by any person, and thus information collected by the City resulting from the use of its websites may be subject to examination and inspection upon request, if such information is a public record and not otherwise protected from disclosure by statute.

Choice

You may decline participation in any activity that asks for information (i.e., surveys or emails). Your choice not to participate will have no effect on your ability to access information on the City's website.

Cookies

To better serve you, we occasionally use "cookies" to customize your browsing experience. Cookies are simple text files stored by your web browser that provide a method of distinguishing among visitors to the web sites. Cookies created on your computer by using our website do not contain personally identifiable information and do not compromise your privacy or security. We use the cookie feature to store a randomly generated identifying tag on your computer. If you have further questions about cookies, the Computer Incident Advisory Capacity Unit that monitors computer problems for the U.S. Department of Energy issued a study on March 12, 1998, of the risks to users of cookies, titled "Information Bulletin 1-034: Internet Cookies". You can refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computer at any time by using any one of a number of widely available methods.  Your choice to refuse the cookie will not inhibit your access to any of the information available on the City website.  Your acceptance of the cookie will serve to provide you with additional functionality in choosing the information you wish to view on a regular basis.

Passwords

In certain instances, you will have the opportunity to receive or create a password to access or submit personal information. You should not divulge your password to anyone and the City will never ask you for your password in an unsolicited phone call or e-mail. When you are finished with those applications that are password protected, you should exit the page.

Site security

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs commercial software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes and are scheduled for regular destruction in accordance with State guidelines for records management and retention.
 
Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.
 

Third Party Sites

The purpose of the City’s website is to provide information about the City’s government, services and attractions.  The site may provide links to web sites outside the City’s website that also serve this purpose.  The City is not responsible for and does not endorse the information on any linked website unless the City’s site states otherwise.  The following criteria will be used to decide whether to grant requests for City website links. 

This privacy policy does not apply to web sites operated by third parties that you may access through a link from our web site.
 

Links Policy

The City’s website will provide links to websites for:

  • Governmental and educational institutions
  • Non-profit organizations with some relationship to the City (including but not limited to: organizations contracting with the City, organizations sponsoring City activities or programs, and organizations participating in City activities or programs)
  • Generally recognized community organizations
  • Non-profit organizations providing information about art, cultural, and sporting activities in the City’s area
  • Non-profit organizations providing information about employment opportunities in the City’s area.
  • Non-profit organizations providing information about tourist attractions in the City’s area

The City’s web site will not provide links to websites for:

  • Candidates for local, state or federal offices
    Political organizations or other organizations advocating a position on a local, state or federal issue
  • Corporate or other for-profit organizations unless they fit any of the criteria stated above
  • Individuals or personal home pages

Copyright Policy

The official City Seal of the City of Bradenton is protected by F.S. 165.043 and City of Bradenton Ordinance 3052. Unlawful use of the official City Seal will be prosecuted.

Unless a copyright is indicated, information on the City of Bradenton website is in the public domain and may be reproduced, published or otherwise used with the City of Bradenton’s permission.  We request only that the City of Bradenton be cited as the source of the information and that any photo credits, graphics, or byline be similarly credited to the photographer, author, or the City of Bradenton, as appropriate.

Webmaster

Contact Public Information Officer, at PIO@cityofbradenton.com or (941) 932-9497.