LAKEVILLE — Lakeville residents will pay an average of $118 more in taxes next year, according to figures presented to the select board at the Monday, Dec. 2 meeting.

Next year’s tax rate will be $10.35 per $1,000 of property value.

This year, the average home value is $550,500, which results in a tax bill of $5,808, according to a presentation by David Golden, associate regional assessor for the Town of Lakeville.

Next year, that same home would be valued at $572,600, with a tax bill of $5,926. 

That represents a tax bill increase of $118, or 2.03 percent, Golden said. 

These numbers could be significantly higher or lower depending on the value of the property, he said. 

The select board agreed to maintain a single tax rate, which means that taxes on owners of residential and commercial properties would be based on the same rate.

Golden noted that the number of businesses in town is limited, and much of those consists of smaller “mom and pop’’ type operations.

Some in the audience questioned if small businesses and larger industries could pay separate tax rates. The state only allows two tax classifications, commercial and residential, Golden said.

Because of the small number of commercial properties in town, taxes on commercial properties would have to increase 7.5 percent to offset a 1 percent decrease in residential bills, he said.

One way to decrease the residential tax burden, select board member Brian Day said, would be to attract more businesses to town. 

Noting that it was an “unpopular thing that nobody wants to say,’’ Day noted that voters rejected a warehouse at the former Lakeville Hospital property at 43 Main St. that he said would have required fewer services than residences while bringing in tax revenue.

Instead, the property is being eyed as a housing development with hundreds of units that would have a “negative impact on the town’’ in terms of increased need for services, he said.

Businesses are attracted by Lakeville’s tax rate, Day noted, but town residents tend to be “adversarial to any commercial or industrial property.’’

As a result, he said, tax bills for residences continue to increase, causing some people to be priced out of town. In some of these cases, the property owners then sell the land they can no longer afford to developers and, he said, the cycle continues.

“We have to find a way’’ to attract business, Day said.

Otherwise, he said, “it’s on our shoulders to pay. We’ve chosen our destiny.’’