Digital Privacy Policy

 

The City of Lakewood is committed to:

  • Communicating city information, and providing multiple city services, via our websites and other online electronic communications.
  • Protecting the personal privacy of people who use our online information and services.

By protecting online privacy, we are responsible to the public trust and expect to build public confidence in and use of the City of Lakewood's online services.  

This privacy policy informs you about the types of information we may obtain via our websites, email and other digital content.

Information Collected

As with most websites, individual visits to the City of Lakewood websites automatically generate statistical information that cannot be linked to any personally identifiable information. Examples of this statistical information include date and time of visit, type of browser and computer operating system used to access the site, the Internet Protocol address of the domain or proxy server accessing the site, and the Internet address of the site from which you may have linked to our site. 

We use this statistical information in aggregate form to better understand the needs of our customers, to diagnose problems with our websites, and to manage and improve our websites by analyzing overall usage and general trends among visits to the site. Information generated by our websites may be used to improve sales and marketing efforts.

Personal Information You Provide 

You may choose to electronically provide personal information through email correspondence, or to provide personal information necessary to use various City services, products, forms, surveys, events and other transactions offered online through our websites.

Depending on the transaction or service, this personal information may include:

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Credit/debit card information

You may choose at any time not to disclose personal information, without affecting your ability to visit other portions of the City’s websites. However, we may not be able to provide you with the online services that depends on that information. 

Use of Data Files

City of Lakewood websites do use small data files such as cookies or pixels to track statistical information (see above), or to make it possible for users to complete an online transaction like registering for a class (such as adding items to an online “shopping cart”), and to improve sales and marketing efforts for a limited number of programs.

You may choose to set your browser to refuse cookies. However, doing so may affect the performance of some features or services of City of Lakewood web pages.

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

The City of Lakewood is committed to requesting only the minimum personal information necessary to complete an individual online transaction, such as email correspondence, a request for service, or online registration for a program, event or service. 

The City of Lakewood will not use any personal information obtained via email, text messaging or our websites for marketing of City programs and events, unless you have given us permission by marking a specific option to do so, or by signing up for specific emails, events, programs or services. If you choose to receive future email marketing information from us, those emails will clearly give you the opportunity to unsubscribe. 

The City of Lakewood will not sell, share or release personal information to any outside parties unless necessary to complete a service or transaction you have requested, or in connection with law enforcement investigations, valid requests under public information statutes (see "Public Records" below), or other legal proceedings. Sharing of personal information between City of Lakewood departments will be limited to only those employees necessary to respond to your request for service or to complete a transaction. 

The City of Lakewood will not send you unsolicited email or other communication, such as surveys or advertising for upcoming events and programs, unless you have given us permission to do so. We will respond in kind to email correspondence, or to other service requests where people have requested an email response. On rare occasions, we may send information via unsolicited communications when deemed appropriate by City management in situations affecting public health or safety. If you receive unsolicited communications from the City of Lakewood and you feel you have not given us permission to do so, please submit a request, with an explanation of your concerns.

Public Records

As a government entity, the City of Lakewood is subject to public records laws. Be aware that information submitted via email or through our websites may be subject to a public records request pursuant to the public records statutes. 

Security

The City of Lakewood is committed to security and quality of data collected by our websites and other electronic communications. We intend to protect your personal information and to maintain its integrity to the fullest extent possible, though “perfect” security does not exist on the Internet. The City is committed to operating secure networks and to using industry standard practices to safeguard data and confidentiality, including firewalls and encryption (Secure Socket Layer) technology. We employ many different security techniques to protect such data from unauthorized access.

When sensitive personal information is accepted for any of our online services, the data is encrypted to protect its confidentiality.

Regular security analyses are performed on systems under our control, including identifying attempts to tamper with the website which may lead to further investigative work, criminal prosecution or other legal proceedings. 

Non-Lakewood Websites and Third-Party Applications

The City of Lakewood's websites and other electronic communications provide access to other websites and third-party vendors that are not designed, maintained or managed by the City of Lakewood. We are not responsible for these sites, which may have their own privacy policies. Visitors to such sites are advised to check their individual privacy policies and to be cautious about providing personal information without understanding how the information will be used. 

The City of Lakewood recognizes discussions take place on social media about city services and neighborhoods. The City's social media administrators may be unable to see discussions between residents due to privacy restrictions enforced by the social media platform. For example, social media administrators are unable to see the conversations between neighbors on Nextdoor.com and between people in private Facebooks groups. Our social media administrators can only view comments posted in response to our posts and from direct messages sent to us. The City cannot address posts with concerns or issues we are unable to see. See more information in our Terms of Use for Social Media channels.

Privacy Questions and Contacts

If you have a question about this privacy statement, please submit a request. For information about the handling of public records requests, contact the Lakewood City Clerk's Office, 303-987-7080.