Website Policies

Disclaimer

City of Petaluma records, including correspondence submitted by members of the public, are subject to the California Public Records Act.  Unless exemptions apply, any communications submitted to the City in any form (including emails and other electronic communications) are subject to disclosure on request.   If you have any questions regarding the extent to which communications you submit to the City may be subject to disclosure, you may contact the City Clerk’s Office at 778-4360 or [email protected].

The information set forth on this page has been furnished by the City and may include information obtained from other sources, which are believed to be reliable. Any statement involving matters of opinion or estimates, whether or not so expressly stated, is set forth as such and not as representation of fact, and no representation is made that such opinion or estimates will be realized. The information and expressions of opinion contained herein are updated periodically and are subject to change without notice, and shall not, under any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the City or in the other matters described therein between updates.

Users of the web site should be aware that documents published on the City's web site are reproductions of the originals. Creation of some reproductions (e.g., Adobe Acrobat or "PDF" documents) is not a perfect science and production of such may introduce errors not present in the original documents. These online documents are provided as a matter of convenience to the user.

Acceptable Use

This policy covers the rules regarding use of the City of Petaluma's website. Please read all of these rules carefully.

Using the City of Petaluma's website indicates your agreement with our web site policies, which contain important conditions and restrictions. If you do not agree, please refrain from using this website.

Individuals, organizations and businesses are free to use the City of Petaluma's website for any lawful, worthy and ethical purpose, except as limited by these Rules. The website must not be used to solicit customers or sell products or services.

All website users shall use appropriate names and language in the name spaces, address spaces and other spaces (if any) provided on the website. Users are forbidden from using false e-mail addresses.

This website contains material protected by law, including but not limited to copyrights and trademarks. All rights in such material are reserved to the City of Petaluma and their respective originators, and materials may not be reused in any way or copied in whole or part without prior written permission from the City of Petaluma.

No representations or warranties are made regarding the materials in or operations of this website. In particular, the City of Petaluma makes no warranties concerning the integrity or fitness or a particular purpose of any information, either express or implied, and disclaims any warranties of non-infringement. The City of Petaluma shall not be liable for any damages of any kind that may result from the use of this website. Materials in and operations of this website are provided as-is and there is no warranty made that they will be free from errors or interruptions. Any liability of the City of Petaluma to users for any damages or losses of any kind shall not exceed the amount paid by the user, if any, for use of this website.

These rules represent the entire agreement between users and the City of Petaluma and may not be modified except by a signed written agreement. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California. If any provision of these rules shall be declared by a court to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, such provision shall be deemed severable from this agreement and the other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

City of Petaluma records, including correspondence submitted by members of the public, are subject to the California Public Records Act.  Unless exemptions apply, any communications submitted to the City in any form (including emails and other electronic communications) are subject to disclosure on request.   If you have any questions regarding the extent to which communications you submit to the City may be subject to disclosure, you may contact the City Clerk’s Office at 778-4360 or [email protected].

As part of demonstrating the City of Petaluma's commitment to individual privacy, the City publishes this policy governing any personal, citizen, and business information supplied to the City via its Web site. The City's goal in collecting personal information through its Web site is to provide visitors with the most effective, personalized service possible. The City will protect online information with the same diligence that it protects information obtained through all other means.

Privacy

E-Mail Addresses - On occasion, the City may request your e-mail address for purposes of correspondence or for City business. The City of Petaluma will not share e-mail addresses with anyone outside the City of Petaluma nor disclose user information to any third party, unless under court order.

Security - This site has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse, and/or alteration of the information under the City's control.

Other Websites - The City's Web page contains links to other sites. The City of Petaluma is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of sites other than Petaluma's.

Log Files - The City of Petaluma does not release information regarding the collection of IP addresses to any third party except under court order. The City of Petaluma Web site archives Web server log files in order to create aggregate statistical reports or detect errors, and for security reasons. These reports do not contain any personally identifiable information. The Web log files are eventually deleted.

Information that we may collect:

GIS services require use of cookies; they are only used for the purposes of the GIS services;

Forms - Contact Webmaster, Public Works, CDD and the Traffic Complaint - sections use forms to collect personal information. That information is used exclusively in the course of City business and only for the purposes outlined in those forms and the information collected is used only to contact the form-user.

Electronic payments - The City's electronic payment systems (building permits, utility payments, licensing payments, class reservations systems) collect personal information only for the processing of payments - those systems have their own web sites, their own policies and privacy statements. No credit card or financial information is collected by the City of Petaluma during those transactions.

Electronic Newsletters - the City may utilize electronic newsletters through a service, such as the "EAgenda". No personal information is collected by the City for that purpose, other than name/email address. Those systems contain "opt-in" and "opt-out" capabilities.

Job Applications Online - Our web site has a module for accepting job applications online. Data collected by that system is used strictly for the job application process by Human Resources, not for any other purpose. Data collected is routinely removed from our system and not maintained on any web servers.

Direct Mail - The City of Petaluma may use the personal data provided online to distribute information about City services and upcoming civic activities. The City will neither sell nor provide personal information to any third party for any other direct mail activities, unless under court order.

Website Links and Linking

Links from City of Petaluma web site to other sites on the Internet do not constitute an endorsement, and the City is not responsible for the content, quality, or accuracy of any materials referenced or linked through the City of Petaluma’s Website. By using City of Petaluma web site, the user acknowledges and accepts that the City of Petaluma is not responsible for any materials stored on other Internet sites, nor it is liable for any inaccurate, defamatory, offensive, or illegal materials found on other Internet sites, and that the risk of injury from viewing, hearing, downloading, or storing such materials rests entirely with the user. The City of Petaluma does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations, and disclaims any and all liability for their contents.