North County Fire Protection District Website Policy

District’s Website Policy Approved by the North County Fire Protection District Board of Directors on September 12, 2006 and revised on November 12, 2007..

In order to properly serve its citizens, the Board would like all visitors to be familiar with our adopted web site policy. To enter our site, simply click on the link to the left. Thank you.

Website Policy

1. PURPOSE:
The purpose of the North County Fire Protection District’s website policy is to advance the public’s health, safety and welfare by providing information for, and interacting with, North County Fire District residents, businesses, and visitors.

2. SCOPE:
This policy is applicable to the North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County which is defined as any internet or intranet web page which represents itself as the North County Fire Protection District. The District owns and operates this website as an information service to its residents and to the public generally. This website is a supplemental to, and not a replacement for, information available from District offices. The District reserves the right to determine what information shall and shall not be placed on this website.

3. POLICY:
A. Accuracy
The District strives to present current and accurate information on this website, but does not guarantee either the accuracy or currency of information posted. In the event of a significant difference between the information on the website and official information available at District offices, the official information should prevail.

B. Email Comments on Public Hearings
Comments on public hearings items which are submitted by email will NOT automatically become part of the official record of such proceedings, unless required by law. Persons wishing to comment on public hearing items should attend the public hearing and express themselves in person at the hearing, or if the notice of a particular hearing allows written comments, then comments may be submitted in that manner.

C. Notices of Public Hearings
When the District places notices of items on its website, scheduled for upcoming public meeting or hearing, it does so only to facilitate public access to such information, as a supplement to the legally required methods of posting notices.

D. Email to District Officers and Employees
Persons submitting email comments or questions to the District, or to District officials or employees, should be aware that the District cannot guarantee, nor does it represent, that such communications will remain private or confidential. Similar to mailed or delivered comments, comments received via email may become subject to public disclosure under the California Public Records act and/or part of the discovery procedures in a civil lawsuit.

E. Requested Notice on Particular Items
California law provides that a person or entity may request personal notice of all public hearings on certain matters. The District will provide such notice via email only if such a requester waives in writing the right to receive such notice by postal mail. California Government Code Section 54954.1 provides that any request for mailed copies of agendas or agenda materials shall be valid for the calendar year in which it is filed and must be renewed following January 1st of each year.

F. Web links
For purposes of this policy, an "external link" is a hyperlink from the District’s website to a website maintained by another party. Neither the District’s website nor the external links listed on such website constitute a forum for expressive activity by members of the public. Rather, the purpose of the District’s Website and the external links is to provide information about county services, officials and attractions and to promote the public's health, safety and welfare. The District is not responsible for, does not endorse, and cannot assure the accuracy of information on these outside web sites. (See Disclaimer of Endorsement below.)

Every request by a person or entity to have the District provide a link from its website to the requesting party's website must undergo review to determine its relevance and appropriateness to the District’s website mission. The Fire Chief, or his/her designee, will review the merits of the requested link keeping in mind the criteria and examples listed below to determine whether the link serves the overall purpose of the District website. The District is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or the content of sites other than the District’s website.

At its discretion, the District may provide links to external websites of educational and other governmental organizations, organizations that have contractual and funding relationships with the District, organizations that provide government related information and/or services not available on an official government website, and services that support the strategic and operational goals of the District.

The District reserves the right to determine how and where external links will appear on its web site.

Links to commercial sites which provide a public or community service but also display commercial advertising or promotional material may be included within the District Website when the Fire Chief or his/her designee has made a good faith determination that:

(1) The District’s independent replication of the information targeted for linkage is unfeasible due to financial or other considerations; and

(2) No non-commercial site provides the information targeted for linkage; and

(3) The information targeted for linkage greatly enhances the usefulness of the District website and services it provides.

The District’s website will not provide links to sites that promote or exhibit bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content.

G. Links to the District's Website
Advance permission to link to the District’s website is not necessary. However, the party linking to the District’s Website should be aware that its sub-pages may change at any time without notice. Entities and individuals linking to the District’s website shall not present the District’s website content as its own, or otherwise misrepresent the District’s website content, or misinform users about the origin or ownership of its content. Any link to the District’s website should be a full forward link that passes the client browser to the District’s website unencumbered. The web browser's "back" button should return the visitor to the originating site if the visitor wishes to back out.

H. Disclaimer of Endorsement
The information posted on the District’s website includes hypertext links to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations. North County Fire District provides these links solely for the information and convenience of users of the District’s website. When users select a link to an outside website, they are leaving the North County Fire District website and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the external website.

The North County Fire Protection District:
(1) does not control content or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website;
(2) does not endorse or recommend any third party web site, product, or services, unless otherwise noted;
(3) does not authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website;
(4) is not responsible for transmissions that users receive from linked websites.

I. Website Privacy
Personal information that is provided by the user will not be given, sold, disclosed or transferred to a third party without the expressed consent of the user, unless the information is subject to disclosure under federal or state law or unless the District is directed to do so as result of a court order.

Information that is generally available under the California Public Records Act and/or federal law may be posted for electronic access through the District’s website.

Many non-public safety sites, linked to the District’s website, may or may not be subject to the Public Records Act, and may or may not be subject to other sections of the California Code or federal law. Therefore, visitors to such sites are advised to check the privacy statements of such sites and to be cautious about providing personally identifiable information without a clear understanding of how the information will be used.

J. Website Security
The North County Fire District is committed to protecting the security of personally identifiable information that is either available from or collected by the District’s website and has taken reasonable precautions to protect such information from loss, misuse, or alteration.

K. Liability Disclaimer
The North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County is neither responsible nor liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions arising out of your use of the District’s website or with respect to the material contained on the website, including without limitation, any material posted on the website nor for any viruses or other contamination of your system. The District’s website and all materials contained on it are distributed and transmitted "as is" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitations, warranties of title or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The District is not responsible for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages that may arise from the use of, or the inability to use, the website and/or the materials contained on the website whether the materials contained on the website are provided by the District or a third party. The District is neither responsible nor liable for any viruses or other contamination of your system.

L. Legal Notice
Information provided to the North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County through its website, through email, or through other messaging systems does not constitute legal notice to the District.

M. Unauthorized Use
All material on the District’s website (content, logos, graphics, and images) is property of the District and no person or entity may duplicate, upload, republish, modify, transmit, post or distribute or mirror the District’s information without the expressed written permission to do so from the Board of Directors of the North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County.

N. Accessibility
The District will do its best to comply with accepted disability access design standards to ensure that people with disabilities can easily access District information.

O. Copyright
Entire website contents copyright 2006 North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County. All rights reserved.

4. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY:
Under the authority of the Board of Directors, the Fire Chiefs shall be responsbile for website content.

5. PROCEDURE:
Requests for material to be placed on the website shall be submitted in writing to the Fire Chief or his/her designee.