Boring.

Boooorrrrrring.

But in the shadow of the tumultuous financial markets and the proposed $700 billion bailout, Natrona County's and Casper's conservative investment policies make boring look good.

Natrona County Treasurer Tom Doyle and Casper's Administrative Services Director V.H. McDonald said Wednesday their respective government's financial assets are safe.

The safety comes from the county's and city's own investment policies, as well as state law, Doyle and McDonald said.

"In Wyoming, a statute restricts what each county can invest in," Doyle said. "So no one's going to get rich quick and nobody's going to lose."

Of the approximately $40 million in the county's care, about $32 million is in a checking account for daily business, he said.

The county, Doyle said, holds approximately $5 million to $6 million invested in the WYO-STAR - Wyoming State Treasurer's Asset Reserve - program, which is a common fund in which participating governments' monies are commingled for investment purposes.

WYO-STAR's investments conform to Wyoming law, which allows county governments and affiliated hospitals, fairs and other boards to invest in U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds; and bonds, notes debentures and other securities issued by or guaranteed by federal government agencies including the federally sponsored agency Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the federally chartered Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac).

"It [WYO-STAR] is a very safe thing," he said. "There's not a real high interest rate."

The county also has about $1 million invested with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

On Sept, 7, the U.S. government announced it was taking control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying the companies' weakened finances had made it impossible for them to carry out their missions of supporting the struggling housing market.

Doyle has received assurances that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will continue to pay the county the interest on its investment, he said. "With that little investment, I'm not too worried."

The county also has about $300,000 in a couple of certificates of deposit, Doyle said.

Casper has an even more conservative investment policy, which insulates it from the current meltdown, McDonald said.

"We're not impacted," he said.

The city owns no equities - stocks, McDonald said. "We're not allowed."

Like the county, Casper's investments are heavily in treasury securities and federal agency securities, he said.

The agencies' securities have performed well, with $1.4 million of its holdings valued at more than what they cost, McDonald said.

He expects that difference between what the city paid and the worth of the federal securities to narrow, he said.

The proposed $700 billion bailout doesn't affect the city, he added.

"We don't rely on credit markets, we have no debt," McDonald said.

Casper's own investment policy is even more conservative than what the state mandates, he said.

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at Tom.Morton@trib.com.