Since the state’s property tax cap was enacted a few years ago, local leaders’ expectations on how much they can squeeze folks have been properly adjusted.

The tax cap is accomplishing its goal of reining in runaway property tax increases, and should be extended.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is pushing that point in these last few rushed days of the legislative session.

Of course, some governmental and educational groups oppose the cap, which limits property tax increases to 2 percent a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. However, because the state’s tax cap formula excludes some expenses, the actual allowable increase is more like 3 to 4½ percent.

The cap is meant to protect taxpayers from the cumulative effects of large property tax increases year after year, which have helped make New Yorkers among the most heavily taxed in the nation. As the governor noted, the cap empowers citizens to scrutinize their tax obligation. It is, however, not a hard cap. The law provides an opening for school and local officials to exceed the cap if they feel it is necessary by getting a 60 percent majority of school voters or 60 percent majority of the members of municipal boards.

While the cap hasn’t reversed the trend in property taxes, it has allowed overtaxed residents and businesses to breathe somewhat easier.

According to conservative watchdog group Empire Center for Public Policy, the highest property tax rate in the state was found in the village of Sloan, in Cheektowaga. The village had an effective rate of $64.67 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, although that staggering figure is due in part to the village’s low property values. Western New York’s high property taxes, as determined by an Empire Center report, were detailed in an earlier News story.

The tax cap has forced taxing bodies to figure out how to do a better job with more money each year, just not as big an increase as they had been used to. It doesn’t even amount to belt-tightening for formerly free-spending governments; it’s just loosening the belt more slowly.

The cap does not expire until next year and would automatically be extended if lawmakers and the governor agree on an unrelated but linked provision involving rent control laws for New York City. This sort of end-of-session give-and-take is not uncommon, and would be a reasonable stopgap for taxpayers.

The governor believes, and we agree, that the tax cap should be made permanent. For now, Assembly Democrats are not going along, so he’s working on extending the cap for a yet-to-be-determined number of years.

Meantime, Cuomo’s recently released report on the tax cap provides a convincing argument. It shows that New Yorkers, on average, have saved more than $800 in property taxes over the three years of the property tax cap program compared to the growth in tax increases seen in the previous 10 years. That’s true even though, with our lower property values, the per-taxpayer saving in Western New York is less than downstate.

The majority of local governments and school districts have enacted property tax increases within the 2 percent annual average growth rate allowed, meaning they appear to have learned a valuable lesson: It’s possible to live within your means.

This is an important point that average New Yorkers put into practice on a daily basis. Why should local governments and school districts be any different?

© 2015 The Buffalo News