NORWICH – Chenango County Attorney Richard Breslin plans to nearly double his 2012 budget for outside counsel in order to go after “the more egregious offenders” of bankruptcy protection law.

“There are a few people who engage in serial filings of bankruptcy,” he told members of the county’s finance committee last week upon requesting $9,000 to cover the effort.

Property owners who are delinquent on their taxes may avoid foreclosure by filing for bankruptcy protection. The courts then arrange a partial payment plan for them, with or without interest depending upon the creditor. In turn, filers are expected to keep their current taxes paid up.

There is also an expectation that they will get out of bankruptcy, but that hasn’t been the case with an unspecified number of repeat filers.

One hundred bankrupt properties in Chenango County are currently being shielded from foreclosure, the treasurer’s office confirmed.