MANSFIELD - After a long discussion and many failed motions, selectmen for the fourth year in a row opted for a split tax rate, with a growing burden placed on town businesses.

The board Wednesday voted 4-1 to set the residential tax rate at $13.33 per $1,000 of assessed value, an increase of $1.31 from last year.

Selectman Jess Aptowitz was the lone dissenting vote.

The new rate will mean a tax bill of $4,714 for the average single-family home assessed at $353,700.

The tax bill for the average single-family home was about $4,450 last year, when the average home price was about $370,000. In arriving at this year's rate, the board voted to increase the split between business and residential rates, moving from a 0.06 percent shift to a 0.11 percent shift, meaning the town's commercial and industrial property will be responsible for a larger share of the tax levy.

Commercial and industrial property accounts for about 20 percent of the town's tax base.

The commercial rate will be $15.33, a jump of $1.71 over last year.

Aptowitz told the rest of the board that he would not support any tax rate based on the $45 million tax levy upon which the town based its budget, saying it was unfair to residents to increase their tax bills while cutting back on services.

"Our tax levy is too high," he said. "We're spending too much money."

Chairwoman Ann Baldwin countered by saying discussion of the tax levy should have been made before the town set its budget, which is based on collecting the $45 million.

"The numbers are what they are for this year," she said.