Terms & Conditions

Agreement to Terms

By accessing or using MyTownView ("the Service"), operated by JCAR Development ("we," "us," or "our"), you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Description of Service

MyTownView is a civic intelligence platform that aggregates publicly available local government data — including meetings, finances, building permits, crime statistics, business activity, school performance, and community events — for municipalities across Illinois. The Service offers free and paid tiers with varying levels of access to features and data.

Accounts

To access certain features, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete information
• Keep your password secure and confidential
• Be at least 13 years of age
• Accept responsibility for all activity under your account

Paid Subscriptions

Paid features are available through subscription plans billed via Stripe:

• Resident — $9.99/month or annual billing (single town access)
• Analyst — $19.99/month or annual billing (all towns access)
• Official — custom pricing (grants + admin tools)

All paid plans include a 14-day free trial. Subscriptions auto-renew at the end of each billing period unless cancelled. You may cancel at any time through your account page; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

We do not offer partial refunds for unused portions of a billing period.

AI Chat Feature

The AI Chat feature is available to paid subscribers. When using AI Chat, you acknowledge that:

• Responses are generated by AI and are informational only — they do not constitute professional, legal, financial, or governmental advice
• We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of AI-generated answers
• Usage is rate-limited (10 questions per minute)
• You should not include sensitive personal information in your questions
• Your questions and AI answers are logged for quality improvement (see our Privacy Policy)

We reserve the right to moderate, restrict, or disable AI Chat access for any account that violates these terms.

Data Accuracy & Disclaimers

The data presented on MyTownView is sourced from publicly available government records, databases, and official websites. While we strive for accuracy:

• All data is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind
• AI-generated meeting transcripts and summaries may contain errors
• Data may not reflect the most recent updates from source agencies
• You should verify critical information with the original government sources before making decisions based on it

Intellectual Property

The MyTownView platform — including its design, code, branding, and AI-generated content — is the property of JCAR Development. The underlying civic data is public information and is not claimed as our intellectual property.

By submitting content (feedback, contact messages, town requests), you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use that content to improve the Service. This license survives account deletion.

Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Scrape, crawl, or systematically download content from the Service
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Service
• Circumvent rate limits or access controls
• Redistribute or resell data obtained from the Service
• Use the Service for any illegal purpose
• Impersonate another person or entity

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless JCAR Development and its officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising out of your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your reliance on data or AI-generated content obtained through the Service.

Limitation of Liability

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the maximum extent permitted by law:

• We are not liable for any decisions you make based on data or AI-generated content from the Service
• Our total liability to you for any claim arising from your use of the Service is limited to the fees you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim
• We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages

Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time for violation of these terms, with or without notice. You may delete your account at any time through your account settings. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately, but provisions that by their nature should survive (limitation of liability, intellectual property, governing law) will remain in effect.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Illinois.

Dispute Resolution

Before filing any legal claim, you agree to attempt to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us at support@jcar.dev. We will attempt to resolve the dispute within 30 days. If the dispute is not resolved informally, either party may pursue formal proceedings as described in the Governing Law section.

You agree that any claim arising from your use of the Service must be filed within one (1) year of the event giving rise to the claim, or the claim is permanently barred. You agree to resolve disputes on an individual basis and waive any right to participate in a class action, class arbitration, or consolidated proceeding.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.