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SMS Terms of Service

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Polk County SMS Terms of Service

Effective date: February 7, 2024

Services that Polk County provides to you are subject to the following SMS Terms of Service. Polk County reserves the right to update the SMS Terms of Service at any time without notice to you.

A. Definitions

  1. The “Agreement” refers, collectively, to all the terms, conditions, notices contained or referenced in this document (the “SMS Terms of Service” or the “SMS Terms”) and all other operating rules, policies (including the Privacy Policy) and procedures that we may publish from time to time on the Website.
  2. “Polk County,” “We,” and “Us” refer to Polk County, a political subdivision of the State of Florida, as well as its affiliates, directors, subsidiaries, contractors, licensors, officers, agents, and employees.
  3. “The User,” “You,” and “Your” refer to the individual person, company, or organization that has visited or is using the Website or Service; that accesses or uses any part of the Account; or that directs the use of the Account in the performance of its functions. A User must be at least 13 years of age.
  4. The “Service” refers to the applications, software, products, and services provided by Polk County.
  5. The “Website” refers to Polk County’s website located at polk-county.net, and all content, services, and products provided by Polk County at or through the Website. It also refers to Polk County-owned subdomains of polk-county.net. Occasionally, websites owned by Polk County may provide different or additional terms of service. If those additional terms conflict with this Agreement, the more specific terms apply to the relevant page or service.
  6. An “Account” represents your legal relationship with Polk County. A “User Account” represents an individual User’s authorization to log in to and use the Service and serves as a User’s identity.
  7. “Content” refers to content featured or displayed through the Website, including without limitation code, text, data, articles, images, photographs, graphics, software, applications, packages, designs, features, and other materials that are available on the Website or otherwise available through the Service. “Content” also includes Services. “User-Generated Content” is Content, written or otherwise, created or uploaded by our Users. “Your Content” is Content that you create or own.

B. SMS/MMS Terms

  1. When opted-in, you will receive text messages (SMS/MMS) to the mobile number(s) provided.
  2. The types of SMS/MMS messages may include emergency alerts or shift notifications related to the Service.
  3. Message frequency will vary.
  4. Message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, please contact your wireless provider.
  5. You can opt out of receiving SMS/MMS messages at any time through the Service or by texting “STOP” to “POLKFL”. After you text “STOP” to us, we will send you an SMS reply to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive SMS/MMS messages from us. If you want to join again, just sign up as you did the first time or text “START” and we will start sending SMS/MMS messages to you again.
  6. For Service support or assistance, text “HELP” to “POLKFL” or email support@polk-county.net.
  7. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
  8. If you have any questions regarding privacy, please read our Privacy Policy.
  9. You understand that the Service, including your Content, may be disclosed in accordance with Florida’s Public Records Law.

C. Acceptable Use

Your use of the Website and Service must not violate any applicable laws, including copyright or trademark laws, export control or sanctions laws, or other laws in your jurisdiction. You are responsible for making sure that your use of the Service is in compliance with laws and any applicable regulations.

D. Cancellation and Termination

  1. Account CancellationIt is your responsibility to properly cancel your Account with Polk County. You can cancel your Account at any time. We are not able to cancel Accounts in response to an email or phone request.
  2. Upon CancellationWe will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
  3. Polk County May TerminatePolk County, in its sole discretion, has the right to suspend or terminate your Account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Service, or any other Polk County service, for any reason at any time. Such termination of the Service will result in the deactivation or deletion of your Account or your access to your Account, and the forfeiture and relinquishment of all Content in your Account. Polk County reserves the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time.
  4. SurvivalAll provisions of this Agreement which, by their nature, should survive termination willsurvive termination — including, without limitation: ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.

E. Modifications to the Service

  1. Polk County reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice.
  2. Polk County shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.

F. Disclaimer of Warranties

Polk County provides the Website and the Service “as is” and “as available,” without warranty of any kind. Without limiting this, we expressly disclaim all warranties, whether express, implied or statutory, regarding the Website and the Service including without limitation any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, security, accuracy and non-infringement.

Polk County does not warrant that the Service will meet your requirements; that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free; that the information provided through the Service is accurate, reliable or correct; that any defects or errors will be corrected; that the Service will be available at any particular time or location; or that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components. You assume full responsibility and risk of loss resulting from your downloading and/or use of files, information, content or other material obtained from the Service.

Polk County has no control over, and shall not be responsible for, the information contained on any site which is linked, referenced or otherwise accessible via the Website or Service. Reference from the Website or Service to any non-governmental entity, product, service or information does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Polk County or any of its agencies or employees. Polk County does not endorse the views expressed by such sites, nor does Polk County warrant the validity of the information, the site’s security, privacy afforded the viewer, or the site’s fitness for any particular purpose.

G. Limitation of Liability

You understand and agree that we will not be liable to you or any third party for any costs, claims, expenses, loss of profits, use, goodwill, or data, or for any incidental, indirect, special, consequential or exemplary damages, however arising, that result from

  • the use, disclosure, or display of your User-Generated Content;
  • your use or inability to use the Service;
  • any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service;
  • the Service generally or the software or systems that make the Service available;
  • unauthorized access to or alterations of your transmissions or data;
  • statements or conduct of any third party on the Service;
  • any other user interactions that you input or receive through your use of the Service; or
  • any other matter relating to the Service.

Our liability is limited whether or not we have been informed of the possibility of such damages, and even if a remedy set forth in this Agreement is found to have failed of its essential purpose. We will have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond our reasonable control.

H. Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to amend the SMS Terms of Service at any time and will update the SMS Terms of Service in the event of any such amendments. We will notify our Users of material changes to this Agreement at least 30 days prior to the change taking effect by posting a notice on our Website. For non-material modifications, your continued use of the Website or Service constitutes agreement to our revisions of the SMS Terms of Service.

We reserve the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Website or Service with or without notice.

I. Questions

​​​​​​​Questions about the SMS Terms of Service should be sent to support@polk-county.net.