(a) Purpose and Scope. The City of Steubenville operates one or more personal information systems regulated by Section 1347 of the Ohio Revised Code. The Law Director of the City of Steubenville is directly responsible for the system. The Personal Information Policy is in place to protect the personal information of individuals covered under this policy. The City shall take reasonable precautions to protect personal information in a system from unauthorized modification, destruction, use, or disclosure. The City shall comply with all applicable provisions of Section 1347 of the Ohio Revised Code, whether or not explicitly set forth in this policy.
(b) Definitions.
(1) “Personal information” means any information that describes anything about a person or that indicates actions done by or to a person, or that indicates that a person possesses certain personal characteristics, and that contains, and can be retrieved from a system by a name, identifying number, symbol, or other identifier assigned to a person.
(2) “System” means any group of related records maintained by the City and from which personal information can be retrieved by the name of the person or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifier assigned to the person. System includes records that are manually stored and those stored through the use of electronic data.
(c) Adoption and Maintenance.
(1) The City will inform, in writing, all employees responsible for the operation or maintenance of the system or for the use of personal information in a system.
(2) The accuracy, relevance, timeliness and completeness of personal information in the system will be monitored and maintained.
(3) The City will periodically review its personal information systems and eliminate personal information that is no longer necessary and relevant, pursuant to applicable record retention schedules approved by the State of Ohio.
(4) An individual who initials or contributes to any disciplinary or other punitive action against another individual who brought to the attention of appropriate authorities, the press, and any member of the public, evidence of unauthorized use of information contained in a personal information system will be subject to disciplinary action pursuant to the City’s corrective action procedure.
(5) Any individual who is asked to supply personal information for a City system will be informed, in writing, whether or not the individual is legally required to supply the information or that the individual may refuse to supply the information.
(d) Rights of the Individual.
(1) Upon request from and proper identification of an individual who is the subject of personal information in a system, the City shall:
A. Inform the person of the existence of any personal information in the system of which the person is the subject.
B. Permit the person or his attorney who presents a signed written authorization made by the person to inspect all personal information in the system of which the person is the subject.
C. Inform the individual about the types of uses make of the personal information including the identity of any users usually granted access to the system.
D. Provide copies of personal information to the person upon request at the rate established in the Public Records Policy of the City of Steubenville.
(2) Disputes concerning the system:
A. An individual may request, in writing, that the City investigate the status of personal information in a system that the individual believes is not accurate, relevant, timely or complete.
B. The City shall investigate the matter within a reasonable time but no later than ninety calendar days after the request has been made to determine if the information is accurate, relevant, timely, or complete.
C. The City shall notify the individual, in writing, of the results of the investigation and of the intended action of the City. The City shall delete any personal information that it cannot verify or that it finds to be inaccurate.
D. If the individual is not satisfied with the City’s decision, the City may do either of following:
1. Permit the individual to include within the system, a clear and brief statement of the individual’s position on the disputed information whereas the City will maintain a copy of the statement in the system.
2. The City shall include in the system a statement in any subsequent dissemination or revision of the disputed information and may include with the statement of the individual a statement from the City that is has reasonable grounds to believe that the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant and for the reason for its belief.
3. The City shall, at the written request of the individual, furnish notification that the disputed information has been deleted or furnish a copy of the individual’s statement of the dispute, to any person specifically designated by the individual.
(Ord. 2011-4. Passed 1-4-11.)