Bankruptcy filings for Rockingham County have nearly doubled over the same period last year, according to figures from the United States Bankruptcy Court.

A total of 243 bankruptcies have been filed from January through May, compared to 135 during the same period last year. Rockingham County ranks behind Hillsborough County as having the most bankruptcy filings in the state.

In addition to the obvious impact on the individuals involved, the rise in bankruptcy filings could have an impact on the ability of local towns to collect property taxes.

Take Derry, for instance. The number of residents who filed for bankruptcy went from 11 in fiscal year 2006 to 24 this year.

This means that in Derry and other local towns where more residents are filing for bankruptcy, tax revenue is coming in slower than usual and could impact future collections, something that Chief Financial Officer Frank Childs is already seeing.

"We're still seeing good solid collections," Childs said. "It's just a little bit slower."

In Londonderry, Assistant Town Administrator Susan Hickey said there has been a slight increase in bankruptcies. The same is true in Pelham and Salem.

Statewide, the number of companies and individuals who have filed for bankruptcy is following the same trend. Through May of last year, a total of 597 bankruptcies were filed. Through May of this year, 1,145 have been filed.

Bankruptcy is the legal recognition that a person can't pay their debts. People typically file for Chapter 7, which discharges all debts, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which allows for setting up reduced payment arrangements with creditors.

Bankruptcy attorneys and state economists cite a number of reasons for the rise in bankruptcy filings in New Hampshire.

One is the weak housing market. A slowdown in home sales left people who incomes were dependent on the strong housing markets of the past few years - real estate brokers and contractors in particular - with a lot of debt and no way to pay it off.

"There's been a slowdown in construction, impacting contractors who don't have a new job to cover the last one," said Peter Bartlett, an economist with the New Hampshire Economic Labor and Market Information Bureau.

That market has also affected people's ability to pay their home mortgages, which has probably forced more to file for bankruptcy, Bartlett said. Adjustable rate mortgages have been a major problem. Now that the rates have adjusted significantly upward, homeowners can no longer afford the pyaments.

Another reason the numbers are up, attorneys said, is that a rush to file after the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 reduced eligibility to file for bankruptcy cut down the numbers for 2006. But now that people have grown used to the new law, the totals are are now returning to where they were before the act took effect.