Use of Information Gathered from the General

The following statement applies only to members of the general public and is intended to address concerns about the types of information gathered from the public, if any, and how that information is used.

I. Cookies

A “cookie” is a small file containing information that is placed on a user’s computer by a web server. Typically, these files are used to enhance the user’s experience of the site, to help users move between pages in a database, or to customize information for a user.

Any information that Chatham County webservers may store in cookies is used for internal purposes only. Cookie data is not used in any way that would disclose personally identifiable information to outside parties unless Chatham County is legally required to do so in connection with law enforcement investigations or other legal proceedings.

II. Logs and Network Monitoring

Chatham County maintains log files of all access to its site and also monitors network traffic for the purposes of site management. This information is used to help diagnose problems with the server and to carry out other administrative tasks. Log analysis tools are also used to create summary statistics to determine which information is of most interest to users, to identify system problem areas, or to help determine technical requirements.

Information such as the following is collected in these log files:

• Hostname: the hostname and/or IP address of the computer requesting access to the site.
• User-Agent: the type of browser, its version, and the operating system of the computer requesting access (e.g., Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.)
• Referrer: the web page the user came from.
• System date: the date and time of access.
• Full request: the exact request the user made.
• Status: the status code the server returned, e.g., fulfilled request, page not found.
• Content length: the size, in bytes, of the file sent to the user.
• Method: the request method used by the browser (e.g., post, get).
• Universal Resource Identifier (URI): the location of the particular resource requested. More commonly known as a URL.
• Query string of the URI: anything after a question mark in a URI. For example, if a keyword search has been requested, the search word will appear in the query string.
• Protocol: the technical protocol and version used, i.e., http 1.0, ftp, etc.

The above information is not used in any way that would reveal personally identifying information to outside parties unless Chatham County is legally required to do so in connection with law enforcement investigations or other legal proceedings.

III. Email and Form Information

If a member of the general public sends Chatham County an e-mail message or fills out a web-based form with a question or comment that contains personally identifying information, that information will only be used to respond to the request and analyze trends. The message may be redirected to another department, agency, or person who is better able to answer the question. Such information is not used in any way that would reveal personally identifying information to outside parties unless Chatham County is legally required to do so in connection with law enforcement investigations or other legal proceedings.

IV. Links

This site may contain links to other sites. Chatham County is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.

V. Security

This site has security measures in place to protect from loss, misuse, and alteration of the information.

Contacting Chatham County

If there are any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or dealings with this website, contact Public Information Officer Kara Lusk Dudley, kara.dudley@chathamcountync.gov.