The purpose of this policy is to identify the criteria and conditions by which the City provides links to external websites. Consistent with the City's overall Website Use Policy, the City's primary purpose for linking to external websites is for the City to provide information to the public regarding services available to the public from City government, as well as information regarding services available to the public from other governmental agencies and private organizations in partnership with the City. Thus, the City is not establishing a forum for others to provide information. Rather, the City is providing information to direct website users to resources outside the City which provide services to the general public which are complementary to and in support of the services provided by the City.
This policy governs the creation of implied or explicit links to external websites from images, notices, and other communications on the City of Fremont website. Such links include:
- Hyperlinks activated by clicking on an image or text, leading to a web page that does not reside on the City of Fremont website (explicit);
- Mention of a URL address providing users with the address of a web page that does not reside on the City of Fremont website (implied), or;
- Any other explicit or implied facilitation of movement from the City of Fremont website to another web page that does not reside on the City of Fremont website.
The City may establish links on the City website to external sites, provided that each external site meets at least one of the following criteria:
- Other government agencies, including federal, state, county, regional, public schools, and special districts.
- Organizations that receive sponsorship from with the City of Fremont in the form of a financial grant, or a written contract by which the City provides services in collaboration with the organization to achieve a mutual goal related to the City's governmental purpose.
- Private utilities that have a franchise from the City of Fremont by which the City regulates or monitors customer service issues.
- Organizations that rent or lease office space from the City of Fremont, such as tenants of the Family Resource Center.
- Commercial real estate and commercial developers that assist the City in promoting businesses throughout Fremont by providing listings of available commercial property in Fremont.
- Local and regional economic development organizations that assist the City in promoting businesses throughout Fremont: the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, business district associations, Economic Development Alliance for Business, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, East Bay Small Business Development Center, Bay Area Regional Technology Alliance, Manex.
- Sites providing directional and climatic information
The linked sites are not under the control of the City of Fremont and the City of Fremont is not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such sites. The City of Fremont is providing these links only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by the City of Fremont or any association with their operators.
All links to external sites will open in a new browser window, and will meet accessibility guidelines. Other than links to other governmental agencies, all links to external sites must be approved by the City of Fremont website coordinator.
This Link Policy (Version 2002-01) is effective as of July 15, 2002, concurrent with the establishment of the City's updated website. The City expects to update the website and this Link Policy on a regular basis in order to incorporate improvements over time. As updates to this policy are adopted, archived versions of older policies will be maintained by the City Clerk in accordance with the City's records retention policy.
