Privacy Statement

Township of Franklin
Somerset County, New Jersey

Privacy Notice

The following notice applies to this web site, which is the Official Local Government Web Site for the Township of Franklin.

Thank you for visiting the Township of Franklin web site and reviewing our Privacy Notice. This statement addresses collection, use and security of and access to information that may be obtained through the use of the Township of Franklin web site. This notice covers the following topics:

Section A. Information Collected and How it is Used

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the web site, 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:

We use this information to help us make our 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.

If You Send Us Personal Information

If you choose to provide us with personal information -- as in an e-mail to an elected official or municipal employee, or by filling out a form with your personal information and submitting it to us through our web site -- we use that information to respond to your message and to help us get you the information 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. Moreover, we do not create individual profiles with the information you provide or to give it to any private organizations. The Township of Franklin does not collect information for commercial marketing.

Section B. Personal Information and Choice

You may choose whether to provide personal information on-line.

"Personal information" is information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes such things as an individual's name, address, e-mail 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 email, participating in a survey or completing an on-line form. You may choose not to contact us by email, participate in a survey, or provide any personal information using an online form. Your choice to not participate in these activities will not impair your ability to browse the Township of Franklin web site and read or download any information provided on the site.

Privacy Warning

Email 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 sensitive, personal information to this Internet address.

The Township of Franklin does not plan on divulging information collected or information disclosed voluntarily, but may be required to do so pursuant to a request under the Right to Know law, the common law Right to Know, 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 submitted, you may contact the Township's Network Administrator as shown in the Contact Information Section of this statement.

Children

We at the Township of Franklin are especially concerned about protecting children's privacy. We hope parents and teachers are involved in children's Internet explorations. It is particularly important for parents to guide their children when children are asked to provide personal information on line. The Township of Franklin encourages children to communicate with their local government officials and send email messages with their feedback and suggestions. We specifically ask children to get their parents' permission before providing any information on line -- at our site or any other site -- and hope parents will always be involved in those decisions. Most importantly, when children do provide information through the Township of Franklin web site, it is only used to enable us to respond to the writer, and not to create profiles of children.

Section C. Public Access to Information
In the Township of Franklin, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by the municipal government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the publics right to access public records that serve various needs including the privacy of individuals. Exceptions are provided by both state and federal laws.

All the information collected at this site becomes public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by members of the public, unless an exemption in law exists.

Section D. Cookies
The Township of Franklin does not use cookies. Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by some Internet web sites to help identify users and the sequence of their movement through a web site.

Section E. Security
The Township of Franklin, the web site development company, and the manager of this web site have 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 information in our possession.

Section F. Disclaimer
The Township of Franklin web site and materials may contain hypertext or links to other Internet web sites which are not owned, operated, controlled or reviewed regularly by the Township of Franklin. These links are provided solely as a courtesy and convenience to you, the visitor. When you link to one of these sites, you are no longer on the Township of Franklin web site and this Privacy Notice will not apply. When you link to another web site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.

The Township of Franklin, its agencies, officers, or employees exercise no control over the organizations, views, accuracy, availability, copyright or trademark compliance or the legality of the material contained on those servers and do not sponsor, endorse, or approve the information, content, products, materials, opinions or services contained on such external sites. The visitor proceeds to these external sites at their own risk. The Township of Franklin and its web development company specifically disclaims any and all liability from damages which may result from the accessing of a third party site which is linked to the Township of Franklin web site, or from reliance upon any such information.

Section G. Contact Information
You may contact the Township of Franklin as follows:

To review your personal information, request correction of your personal information, or to offer comments about the Township of Franklin web site, or about the information presented in this Privacy Notice, please contact:

NAME: Donna M. Vieiro
DEPARTMENT: Assistant Township Manager
ADDRESS: 475 DeMott Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873
FAX: 732-993-1831
PHONE: 732-873-2500 x233
COMMENT FORM