Legal Information

Legal Disclaimer & Terms of Use

Last Updated: January 6, 2026

By accessing or using Pennyancitizens.com, you agree to the following terms and conditions.

Important Notice

By accessing or using Pennyancitizens.com (the "Site"), you agree to the following terms and conditions. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

1 Independent Citizen Website

Pennyancitizens.com is an independent, citizen-run informational and discussion platform.

The Site is not affiliated with, operated by, or endorsed by the Village of Penn Yan, the Town of Milo, Yates County, any Industrial Development Agency, or any governmental entity.

The Site is not a political organization and does not represent any political party, candidate, developer, or special interest group.

2 Informational Purposes Only — No Legal or Professional Advice

All content on Pennyancitizens.com is provided for general informational and educational purposes only.

Nothing on this Site constitutes legal, financial, engineering, environmental, or professional advice.

Users should independently verify information and consult qualified professionals or official sources before acting on any information found here.

The Site makes no warranties regarding the completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of information.

3 Accuracy, Sources, and Corrections

We strive to present information that is factual, well-sourced, and clearly explained. However:

  • Government records, meeting minutes, and public statements may be incomplete, delayed, or later corrected.
  • Errors may occur. When they are identified, we will correct them transparently.
  • Users are encouraged to submit corrections with supporting documentation.

4 Opinions and User-Generated Content

Articles labeled as Opinion, Editorial, or Letter reflect the views of the individual author only.

User-submitted content does not necessarily reflect the views of Pennyancitizens.com or its administrators.

The Site reserves the right to moderate, edit, or remove content that violates these Terms.

No Data Sales — Ever

Our Foundational Privacy Commitment

Pennyancitizens.com does not sell, rent, trade, license, or monetize user data—ever.

This includes:

  • Names
  • Email addresses
  • IP addresses
  • Comments
  • Submissions
  • Browsing behavior
  • Analytics data

We do not participate in data brokerage, targeted advertising networks, or third-party data marketplaces.

If analytics are used, they are strictly for basic site performance and usage understanding, not for tracking individuals.

This commitment is foundational to the Site and non-negotiable.

6 Limited Data Collection

The Site may collect minimal information necessary to operate, such as:

  • Voluntarily submitted contact information (e.g., email for newsletter sign-up)
  • Content submitted by users
  • Basic server logs for security and abuse prevention

Anonymous submissions are permitted where technically feasible.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

7 Third-Party Links

The Site may link to:

  • Government websites
  • News outlets
  • Public documents
  • External resources

Pennyancitizens.com is not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or accuracy of third-party sites.

8 Moderation & Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Site to:

  • Post defamatory, threatening, or knowingly false content
  • Harass or dox individuals
  • Impersonate others
  • Upload illegal or malicious material
  • Spam or disrupt site operations

Moderation decisions are made in good faith to maintain civil, productive discussion.

9 Public Records & FOIL Materials

Documents obtained through FOIL or other public-records requests are shared as received, subject to redactions already applied by the issuing agency.

The Site does not guarantee the completeness or context of any public record and encourages users to review original sources when available.

10 Intellectual Property

Original content published on Pennyancitizens.com is protected by copyright unless otherwise stated.

Quotations, excerpts, and public records are used under fair-use principles.

Users retain ownership of their original submissions but grant the Site a non-exclusive license to publish them.

11 Limitation of Liability

Pennyancitizens.com and its contributors shall not be liable for:

  • Any direct or indirect damages arising from use of the Site
  • Reliance on information presented
  • Decisions made based on Site content

Use of the Site is at your own risk.

12 Changes to These Terms

These Terms may be updated periodically. Changes will be posted on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date.

Continued use of the Site constitutes acceptance of updated Terms.

13 Contact

Questions, corrections, or concerns may be directed to:

Contact Us:

Via Our Contact Form

We welcome feedback and will respond to legitimate inquiries as promptly as possible.

In Summary

✓ We're independent citizens, not government or political operatives

✓ Information is for educational purposes, not professional advice

✓ We never sell your data — ever

✓ We strive for accuracy and correct errors transparently

✓ Opinions are clearly labeled as such

✓ Use the Site at your own risk

Your Privacy Matters

Privacy Policy

What information we collect, how we use it, and—just as importantly—what we do not do with your information

Effective Date: January 6, 2026

Short Version:

  • We collect the minimum information necessary to operate the site.
  • We do not sell user data. Ever.

1 Our Core Privacy Commitment

Pennyancitizens.com is a citizen-run civic information platform. Trust is foundational to our mission.

Accordingly:

We do not sell personal data.

We do not rent, trade, license, or monetize personal data.

We do not participate in data brokerage or data marketplaces.

We do not build advertising profiles or behavioral tracking profiles.

We do not share user data for marketing or targeting purposes.

This commitment applies to all users, all data, and all circumstances.

2 Information We Collect (Minimal by Design)

We collect only what is reasonably necessary to operate the Site.

Information You Voluntarily Provide

You may choose to provide:

  • Name or pseudonym
  • Email address (e.g., newsletter signup or contact form)
  • Written submissions, comments, or documents
  • Messages sent through contact forms

You may browse the Site without providing personal information.

Automatically Collected Information (Limited)

Like most websites, we may collect limited technical information, such as:

  • • IP address
  • • Browser type
  • • Device type
  • • Date/time of access
  • • Pages viewed

This information is used only for:

  • Basic site functionality
  • Security and abuse prevention
  • Aggregate usage understanding

It is not used to identify individuals or track behavior across websites.

3 Analytics (If Used)

If analytics are used, they are:

Minimal

Aggregate

Performance-focused

We do NOT use analytics to:

  • • Track users across the internet
  • • Build personal profiles
  • • Serve targeted advertising

Where possible, we favor privacy-respecting analytics configurations.

4 What We Do NOT Collect

We do not knowingly collect:

Sensitive personal data (e.g., SSNs, financial account numbers)

Precise geolocation data

Biometric data

Health information

Data about children under 13

5 How We Use Information

Information collected is used only to:

Publish submitted content (when approved)

Respond to inquiries

Send newsletters or updates (if you opt in)

Maintain site security and integrity

Improve site usability in aggregate

We do NOT use personal information for advertising or profiling.

6 Data Sharing & Disclosure

We Do Not Sell Data — Ever

To be explicit: Pennyancitizens.com does not sell, rent, trade, license, or otherwise commercialize user data under any circumstances.

Limited Disclosure Scenarios

We may disclose information only if:

Required by lawful court order or legal obligation

Necessary to protect the security or integrity of the Site

Necessary to investigate abuse or unlawful activity

Any such disclosure is limited to what is legally required.

7 Anonymous & Sensitive Submissions

We allow anonymous submissions when appropriate.

Anonymous submissions are reviewed carefully

Verification may be requested

We take reasonable steps to protect anonymity

We do not intentionally deanonymize contributors

However, no online system can guarantee absolute anonymity.

8 Data Retention

We retain information only as long as reasonably necessary to:

Operate the Site

Maintain historical records

Comply with legal obligations

Users may request deletion of voluntarily submitted personal information, subject to:

  • • Legal requirements
  • • Public-interest record considerations (e.g., published articles)

9 Data Security

We take reasonable technical and administrative measures to protect information from:

Unauthorized access
Disclosure
Alteration
Destruction

No system is perfectly secure, but we prioritize responsible data handling.

10 Third-Party Links

The Site may link to external websites (e.g., government sites, news outlets).

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites. Users should review their policies separately.

11 Children's Privacy

Pennyancitizens.com is not intended for children under 13.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If such information is discovered, it will be deleted.

12 Your Choices

You may:

Browse the Site without providing personal information

Opt out of newsletters or communications

Request correction or deletion of personal information you provided

Requests can be made via the contact information below.

13 Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated occasionally to reflect operational or legal changes.

Updates will be posted on this page

The "Effective Date" will be revised accordingly

Continued use of the Site constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14 Contact

Questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy may be directed to:

Contact Us:

Via Our Contact Form

Final Plain-English Summary

Minimal Collection

We collect very little data

Site Operations Only

We use it only to run the site

Never Sold

We do not sell data—ever

No Tracking

We do not track you across the internet

We value privacy as a civic principle, not a commodity.