Privacy Statement
Wasco Sherman County adheres to the highest of Internet standards, protecting its users' privacy. What type of information does Wasco Sherman County collect, and what ’s done with that information?
Like most websites, the Wasco Sherman County website collects two types of information: anonymous information, and personally identifiable information.
By "anonymous information," we mean data that can’t be linked to specific individuals. We may log user hits, visits, and sessions, but only capture information about the visiting user’s service provider. This information helps us create a better overall experience for website users. The statistics are compiled into website traffic reports, which help us understand, anticipate, and respond to user behavior. Cookies" are another type of anonymous information. A website cookie is a small text file that a web server (such as Wasco Sherman County’s) places on a user’s computer. When accessing a cookie, a web server reads a number associated with a browser, but is unable to determine any data about a user (nor, for that matter, can the server do anything else with a cookie, malicious or otherwise). With that number, a web server can tailor its information to the needs of the specific browser. We use cookies rarely. By "personally identifiable information," we’re referring to data on specific individuals who have volunteered the information on certain Wasco Sherman County web pages. Data could include name, physical address, e-mail address, credit-card number, and so forth. Providing that information to us is purely voluntary and is used to serve you better. Personally identifiable information will be used by the county only on a need-to-know basis, and will not be made accessible to unauthorized employees at any time. Does Wasco Sherman County share the information with anyone?
Unless a user consents to such distribution, Wasco Sherman County will not sell, lease, or give away personally identifiable information to other governments, organizations, or private businesses within the limits of the law.
It’s important to know the law, as state and federal laws place a special burden on public entities such as Wasco Sherman County to assure the public’s right to access public records and information. Public information (as opposed to private information) involves information about activity that is regulated. For example, in purchasing a building permit online, a person’s name is public information (because building permits are regulated by the County), but the fact that you bought it with a certain credit-card number is not (because means of purchasing is not regulated). Furthermore, public information would include correspondence with the County, including e-mails and website comments about county processes, policies, activities and other types of general correspondence.
Wasco Sherman County retains the right to release private information in rare cases we believe to be emergencies.
Outside of legal requirements and extreme emergencies, information on the Wasco Sherman County website will not be released to anyone without the consent of the user.