Chatham County residents packed the district courtroom to discuss impact fees, which is a one-time payment for homeowners to pay for school construction.

"We'll have to leave to live because we can't afford to live here. We're being taxed to death," Heather Johnson, a resident and member of the Chatham Conservative Voice, said.

Every homeowner pays a one-time fee of $3,500, but if impact fees are based on how many bedrooms are in the home -- which is one of the options -- the number could skyrocket.

For example, a person in a three bedroom home could pay more than $8,000. A four bedroom homeowner could get slapped with up to $14,000.

"The amount is so large that if you have any family size at all you're going to have three bedrooms or more and that means you pay $8700 on a house that costs $15000," Rich George, who develops affordable housing, said.

County Commissioner George Lucier says the county needs a suitable way to pay for school expenses as construction costs continue to go up.

"We're looking 10 to 20 years down the road. So the need is not now, but one year from now we have to have some mechanism in place to pay our debt," Lucier said.

Lucier assured the crowd numerous times during the meeting that nothing has been proposed and the county will work with resident to come up with a solution.