Legal Notice/Disclaimer

Disclaimer Notice: The Prince William County Web site contains links to other Web sites. You should be aware that the sites we are linking to are not under the control of Prince William County government. Any link to another site should not be construed as a representation of Prince William County government, nor does it serve as an endorsement by Prince William County government. Links to other sites are provided only as a convenience to you. As such, Prince William County government cannot ensure the quality, accuracy or suitability of any information found when you click on a link to another Web site.

Email Policy

The Prince William County e-mail service is primarily designed to handle your comments and suggestions. Your ideas will help us improve this Internet site and provide the information you want most.

If you are making an inquiry via e-mail, we will acknowledge receipt of your message with an automatic response. Your inquiry will be handled by the appropriate staff, in turn, along with other citizen telephone calls, faxes, and letters sent to County government agencies.

When making an inquiry or requesting a response from County staff, please include your name, home address, telephone number and fax number, if available, as your request may be handled by another media.

Internet Privacy Statement

Purpose:

The Commonwealth of Virginia under Virginia Privacy Protection Act, Chapter 26 of Title 2.1 of the Code of Virginia requires every public agency to develop and publish an internet privacy policy statement that at a minimum addresses the following:

  1. Whether any data is automatically collected when accessing the County's web site;
  2. What information, including personal data is collected;
  3. Whether the County's web site automatically places a computer file (i.e. "cookie") on citizens' computer;
  4. What is the purpose of placing a "cookie" on citizens' computer, and
  5. How the collected information is being used or will be used.

A. Established Practices:

Prince William County uses the following practices and procedures when an individual accesses the County's web site:

  1. Data Collection: Internet Protocol (IP) address; browser type and version; date and time of visit; and Operating System. Domain name, organization name, and country of origin are derived from IP address. The information is used only for the purpose of generating statistical reports.
  2. Personal Data Collection: The County collects NO personal data when an individual visits the County internet site.
  3. Use of Cookies: The County use of cookies is strictly limited, used only to help a user move from one Web page to another within certain applications on the County Web site. No personal information is stored on a user’s computer, and the County has no access to other information on a user’s computer. Any County Web page that uses cookies will prompt a user before a cookie is used. If desired, the user can prevent the use of any cookies. Any County application that uses cookies will have a statement on its use.
  4. Sharing and Disclosing of Collected Data: The County will not share or disclose above collected data to anyone or any organizations unless:
    1. Federal Law requires disclosure of your IP address, domain name, organization;
    2. Need to respond to deliberate act of sabotage and/or damage against County's web site;
    3. Need to respond to a subpoenas, court order, and/or legal process.

B. Privacy Statement Changes:

The County reserves the right to amend this policy statement when required. However, changes to this statement will be reflected in this document for review.

C. Definitions:

  1. Browser – Graphical software used to navigate the Internet (e.g. MS Internet Explorer.)
  2. Internet – A term used to describe an interconnected network of computers that span the world. Today, navigation of the Internet is generally accomplished by the use of a browser.
  3. Cookies – A small computer file containing an identification number, which is placed on your personal computer when you visit a web site. It is not a computer program. It cannot read the contents of a user’s disk. There are two types of cookies: per-session cookies which expire as soon as the user’s computer session is terminated, and persistent cookies, which are placed on a user’s disk drive for a specified length of time. These cookies store user preferences and settings for a specific web site, and can make subsequent visits to that site quicker and easier. Users can delete cookies from their computer at any time.