In 2010, the median property tax paid in Monroe County was $4,035 — almost twice as much the national median of $2,043. In fact, Monroe County real estate taxes as a percentage of home value ranked second highest in the nation out of 806 counties. The same is true across the region. The median property tax paid in Livingston and Ontario counties each exceeded $3,000.

High property taxes hold back our economy by stifling growth. They discourage people from moving to New York, and from investing and starting businesses here. In 2011, New York State enacted its real property tax cap — a substantive and essential first step toward controlling the growth of our sky-high property taxes.

However, when the tax cap law was enacted, it contained within its language a “sunset” provision. That means it will expire in 2016 unless Albany takes steps to extend it. It should not just be extended, but made permanent.

According to the Empire Center for New York State Policy, taxpayers in the Greater Rochester region have saved $489,882,474 since the cap was enacted. It has forced local governments and school districts to control their spending and operate with the same fiscal discipline that our families and businesses must live with every day.

From 1982-2012, school taxes in the Finger Lakes region increased by 5.6 percent annually, on average. Since the cap went into effect in 2012, the region’s annual average school tax increase has held below 2.5 percent. This year, all but one of the Finger Lakes region’s school districts’ proposed budgets stayed within the cap. Thedistrict that elected to exceed the cap saw its budget rejected by voters.

A Siena Research Institute poll conducted in late May found that 73 percent of New Yorkers statewide believe the tax cap is working, with even greater support found Upstate, where 77 percent of respondents indicated their support. While New Yorkers still pay too much in property taxes, bringing increases closer to the rate of inflation represents significant progress. Over the last four years, we have seen some of the lowest rates of property tax growth throughout the state. If New York is to become a place where all families can afford to live and businesses are able to succeed, the cap must continue.

Before this year’s legislative session ends, it is critical that our leaders in Albany make the property tax cap permanent. It’s working.

Robert Duffy is president and CEO of Rochester Business Alliance