This document outlines the policies for linking to and from the Durham County Government website. The mission of the Durham County Government website is to provide a single point of access to Durham County information and services that is:

• Open;
• Convenient;
• Efficient;
• Customer service-oriented; and
• Accessible.

To provide a public portal that allows citizens and businesses to quickly locate and access electronic government services and information, Durham County will use the guidelines outlined below to link to information and services offered by local, state, and federal governments or commercial entities.

Links to Durham County Government

Advance permission to link to http://www.dconc.gov/ is not necessary. However, be aware that Durham County subpages (i.e. County departments' and agencies' pages) may change at any time without notice. Entities and individuals linking to Durham County must continuously verify links to our subpages.

Entities and individuals linking to the Durham County Government website shall not capture Durham County Government website pages within frames, present Durham County Government website content as its own, or otherwise misrepresent Durham County Government's website content or misinform users about the origin or ownership of Durham County Government's website content. Any link to the Durham County Government website should be a full forward link that passes the client browser to the Durham County Government website unencumbered. The Back button should return the visitor to its site if the visitor wishes to back out.
Links from Durham County Government

This section outlines the criteria and requirements that external web sites must meet to have a link from the Durham County Government website. It also details how links are accepted and removed from the Durham County Government website.

Criteria

The fundamental purpose of the Durham County Government website is to inform citizens and users regarding government services and to perform government functions. The Durham County Government website is not a forum for public communication and debate. The following criteria have been established to preserve the non-public forum nature of the Durham County Government website. Durham County accepts link requests made by local, state, and federal government and commercial entities that provide information and services that benefit Durham County citizens and businesses. At its discretion, Durham County may link to non-governmental websites that contain information and/or services that further the purpose of the Durham County Government website. Every link request must undergo review to determine its relevance and appropriateness to the Durham County Government website mission of providing access to Durham County electronic government services. Links are approved for the Durham County Government website based on the following criteria:

1. The external website corresponds with the Durham County Government website design and mission of single point of access to government information and services that is open, convenient, efficient, customer service-oriented and accessible.
2. The site's content is appropriate with respect to the Durham County Government website mission and is not a:
   
   • Commercial site which charges a fee for products or services on-line; (Notices of the availability of publications by government entities that charge for the publications or notices of government sponsored conferences that charge a registration fee are not commercial sites and may be considered for linking.);
   • Site that exhibits hate, bias, discrimination, pornography; libelous or otherwise defamatory content;
   • Site belonging to or supporting a political affiliation; or
   • Site which furthers the agenda of a political organization or candidate running for office.

The County of Durham does not ensure the validity, integrity, or currency of any information on the websites to which the Durham County Government website links. It is the linked website's responsibility to maintain their website and to ensure the validity and currency of the information presented. Durham County is not responsible for the information or ideas expressed on linked sites.

The County of Durham reserves the right to deny or remove links in its sole discretion.

Requirements

To give superior customer service to citizens and businesses accessing governmental information and services through the Durham County Government website, we require that external websites requesting a link on the Durham County Government website meet the following requirements:

1. The linked site must provide the user with an e-mail address and/or a customer service telephone number on every page of the site, in order for users to contact the site if there are problems with format, accuracy, timeliness, or payment processing.
2. When the user clicks on the external website link, he/she must have easy access back to the Durham County Government website. One of two options can accomplish this:
   
   • A link to the Durham County Government website can be established on the external website's main page; or
   • The "Back" button returns the user to the Durham County Government website.
3. Linked sites must have a privacy policy accessible from their home page informing the user of what information is collected, how it is collected, how it is used, and how the user can review and correct the information.

Durham County reserves the right to link to external websites that it feels would provide a service to the citizen.

Removal Process

Links from the Durham County Government website will be reviewed regularly and may be removed for any reasons including:

• The link no longer points to the original information or resource to which it was intended to point;
• The information pointed to by the link is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise violates the criteria and requirements set forth above in the sections entitled "Criteria" and "Requirements;"
• Access to the information has become difficult due to non-standard formatting, lengthy download times, or intrusive advertising;
• The link is permanently unreachable or remains unavailable for a lengthy period, especially if we are unable to contact the site manager about the site's status;
• The external website fails to comply with the written linking agreement, if any;
• Customers of the externally linked site excessively burden the Durham County customer support system.

Contact Information

For questions and concerns regarding the linking policy, or to request a link, send e-mail to webmaster@dconc.gov.