Privacy Policy and Legal Notices

Purpose

This policy describes privacy practices regarding information collected from the Mecklenburg County web site. It contains information about what data are collected and how that information is used. Every time you use visit a MeckNC.gov website, you are consenting to this privacy policy. 

Third-Party Services

Mecklenburg County uses third-parties for certain services such as:

  • Web traffic monitoring and website optimization.

  • Form submissions and workflow tools.

  • Web portals.

  • Financial transactions.

  • Content personalization.

  • Video content.

Whenever you use you a third-party service, you are also agreeing to that service’s Privacy Policy and EULA.

Automatic Collection of Certain Information

Some information is automatically collected when you visit MeckNC.gov. As with many websites, we use server logs, cookies, metadata, and geocodes. The information automatically collected may include, but is not limited to: 

  • The domain name of your Internet Service Provider and/or your computer.
  • The IP address from which you access our website.
  • The browser type you are using (e.g., Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Mozilla Firefox).
  • your operating system (e.g., Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, etc.).
  • The type of device you are using.
  • The date and time you accessed our services.
  • You location data.
  • The pages you visited, as well as any applications or forms used.
  • The Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) of the webpage that linked you to our Services. 

We do not collect information to share with outside agencies for the purposes of targeted advertising. We collect this data to help us better analyze and improve our web services. This information allows us to learn how many visitors we have, where they are coming from, and which of our services are of most interest to users.  We do not collect, store, or share personally identifiable information (PII) that is protected under HIPAA. 

If You Send Us Personal Information

While some information is automatically collected when you visit a MeckNC.gov site, there are also times you may provide us with additional information. These could include:

  • User feedback or form submissions.

  • User account creation.

  • Secure transactions.

  • Email and text message subscriptions.

We use this information to make our communications better or to provide access to our digital services. The additional information collected will be no more specific than if the visitor were requesting the service by any other means, including by telephone or an in-person visit to a County facility.

If you participate in a survey, send us an email or submit an online form, your email address and the other information you volunteered will be collected. We may share this information with other governmental agencies or organizations to provide the help you are requesting. We may also use that information to help assess user needs and analyze trends. Certain types of personal information constitute public records, which means that we must provide it to persons making public records requests. However, this does not include the account numbers you use for electronic payment, public enterprise billing information and certain other types of protected information.

If you use this web site for electronic commerce, we may collect, process and disclose your name, address and payment information (if applicable) to the extent necessary to complete the online transaction and for record-keeping activities as billing, permits and licenses.

Privacy of Email Lists

Mecklenburg County may maintain email lists, but only of those individuals or organizations that have specifically opted to receive updates and other information from the County. These lists include members of the media and interested members of the general public who have specifically requested to be kept informed about the County affairs. Under North Carolina General Statutes §132-1.13 Leaving the site. electronic lists of subscribers to local government notification services are open for public inspection but not available for copying. Members of the public, including the media, may hand-copy addresses from a subscriber list, but local governments are not required to provide the list in printed or electronic format. Mecklenburg County has chosen not to provide these lists in printed or electronic format to any requestors, but must allow inspection as required by law. This law applies to all local governments in North Carolina.

Length of Time Data Will Be Stored / How to Unsubscribe

Unless you request that we delete any of the information you submitted when you registered for any electronic updates and/or newsletters we may offer, we may store such information indefinitely. You can "unsubscribe" to any newsletters, notices, schedules, etc., sent to you automatically by email in one of the following ways: Each email sent to you provides an automatic way to unsubscribe to a mailing list; You can unsubscribe on the same web page that you used to subscribe; or You can unsubscribe by accessing the user profile you created when you initially subscribed Security Some information that you submit to us through this web site may be protected by encryption technology, whereas other information may not. Unless a particular web page on this site indicates that encryption technology is being used, you should not assume that information you submit through that web page will be secure. If you submit information to our server through a web page containing visible indicators of active encryption technology, we will take reasonable precautions to safeguard the confidentiality of such information. However, no web site can protect itself against all eventualities. Mecklenburg County will not be held liable for any injury caused by the disclosure of your information, whether by security breach, accident, inadvertence, or any other act resulting in disclosure.

Use of Cookies

Cookies or other technology may transfer information from this web site to your hard disk for record-keeping purposes. Cookies or similar technology can make the Internet more useful by storing information about your preferences on a particular site. The use of cookies or similar technology is an industry standard, and this web site, like many other web sites, uses them to provide useful features for our users. Cookies in and of themselves do not personally identify you, although they do identify your computer. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can set your browser to refuse cookies. However, you may not be able to take full advantage of this web site if you do so.

Public Records

Mecklenburg County is governed by the North Carolina public records laws. This means that the information we receive online might be disclosed to any person making a public records request. Certain types of information (such as public enterprise billing information and the account numbers you use for electronic payment ) are exempt from disclosure as public records. If you have questions about the North Carolina public records laws, refer to N.C. G.S.§132.1 et. seq. For purposes of determining whether information is a public record, information sent to us through this web site is treated the same as information sent to us by mail or delivered to us in person.

Children

No applications on this web site specifically solicit information from minors or seek to determine whether the visitor is a minor. Consequently, visitors should be aware that the collection of personal information requested from or volunteered by children online or by email will be treated in the same manner as information given by an adult. Among other things, this means that it may become a public record and therefore may be subject to public access. We ask that parents guide their children when children are asked to provide personal information online. We ask that children get their parents' permission before providing any information to us.

Opting Out

While accessing our site, you may decline participation in any activity that asks for information (i.e. survey, subscription, or email). Your choice not to participate will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature on our site.

Notices Regarding Software, Documents and Services Available on this Website

Mecklenburg County Government makes no representations about the suitability of the information contained in the documents and related graphics published on this server for any purpose. All such documents and related graphics are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Mecklenburg County hereby disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to this information, including all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. In no event shall Mecklenburg County Government be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortuous action, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information available from these servers.

The documents and related graphics published on these servers could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. The Mecklenburg County Government may make improvements and/or changes in the document(s) and/or the program(s) described herein at any time.

In no event shall Mecklenburg County Government be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortuous action, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of software, documents, provision of or failure to provide services, or information available from these servers.

External Links

External links are provided as a convenience for our website visitors and for informational purposes only; these links do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by Mecklenburg County for any products, services, opinions, or approval of the corporation or organization or individual. Mecklenburg County bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content found on the linked external site or its subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.

Notices Regarding Official Logos and Trademarks

The County Seal is a registered Trademark of the County of Mecklenburg; none of these images may be used in any form whatsoever without the expressed written consent of their respective owner(s).