Despite a volatile stock market, the city of Casper's investments are on the plus side, said V.H. McDonald, the administrative services director.

Most of the city's investments are issued by the U.S. government, which is a fairly conservative plan, McDonald said, and is keeping the city safe from the stock market's fluctuations.

Chris Crossen, a certified financial planner for Ameriprise Financial, said U.S. government bonds are safe and conservative.

"It's backed by the full face of the U.S. government," he said. "And so far we've never missed a payment."

The city also has a limited amount of money in commercial paper, as long as it meets a quality test and is held for a limited number of days.

This type of investment plan is, "very appropriate for the city," Crossen said.

Local investments are highly regulated by Wyoming state statutes, McDonald said, which keeps municipalities from investing in stocks that traditionally carry a higher risk.

There are several ways cities can invest their money, including state-run pools.

Lois Huff, the deputy city treasurer for the city of Cheyenne, said Wyoming's capital keeps a portion of its roughly $39 million in WYO-STAR, a government investment pool.

Huff said the pool does not always bring the highest return possible, but gets a better return than a savings account and the money is very easy to access. Cheyenne's remaining funds are managed by an investment management group.

The city of Casper does not keep any of its more than $100 million in the state pools, McDonald said. As of Friday, McDonald said their portfolio had $109 million, with a market value of about $112.3 million.

Considering the recent financial news, McDonald said, the city's finances are in good shape.

The city's finances are audited annually, and the June 30, 2007 report from Porter, Muirhead, Cornia and Howard indicated the city correctly reported its finances and follows state statutes.

Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com