BUTLER TWP — The arts are a vital part of daily life, economic development and education, according to officials at an event Tuesday that focused on regional economic impact.

Speakers at the event at Butler County Community College, hosted by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, included Butler Mayor Maggie Stock, BC3 President Nick Neupauer, and arts council CEO Mitch Swain.

The event focused on a nationwide study, commissioned by Americans for the Arts, which examined the economic impact of nonprofit arts and their audiences.

The study concluded that in southwestern Pennsylvania — Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties — arts organizations and their audiences spent about $15.9 million in 2010, with spending providing more than 500 full-time equivalent jobs, $11.5 million in household income and $2.2 million in tax revenues.

Using those figures, the study estimated that spending, income and taxes accounted for $29.6 million in regional economic impact due to the arts. If Allegheny County is included, that figure jumps to $1.2 billion in total economic impact.

Swain said those numbers can help convince lawmakers to fund art-based initiatives.

“We often speak of the arts with a voice of passion when, just as often, we need to voice facts” to get funding, he said.

Neupauer said that when trying to get funding for BC3, he must convince people to look beyond the initial cost and to examine the real returns of an investment. The same principle applies to funding for the arts.

“It is up to me to influence these individuals, letting them know the power of their investment,” he said. “And cultural enrichment opportunities are a part of our mission. We believe here that the arts and education can be partners in significant ways.”

Stock said Butler has long embraced the arts, and the economic impacts can be seen, from the six new restaurants that opened in the city in the past year to the success of the West New Castle Street plaza downtown, which will open for its second season May 31.

As further proof, she touted Butler's designation as being rated as the seventh best small town in America last year by Smithsonian Magazine, based on “high concentrations of museums, historic sites, botanic gardens, resident orchestras, art galleries and other cultural assets common to big cities.”

“I can't remember a time in my life that I wasn't involved in writing, music or theater,” Stock said.

“I know how the arts can transform your life, and I know how the arts can transform your town.”

For example, Butler has produced professional jazz trombonist and arranger Jim Pugh, and professional French horn player William Purvis.

“They got to be famous in the arts because they were nurtured here under schools and organizations that value the arts,” Stock said.

“We have theater here, barbershop quartets and festivals and glassblowers. We have everything that everybody else wants in a small town.”

She said that “people don't just show up and buy a ticket” when they attend events. They spend money on the way there or go out after.

“So, did art and music and culture boost the local economy? Uh, yeah. But the arts are bigger than just the economy. It's day-to-day life,” the mayor said.

Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, said the arts are essential to quality of life.

“When people come into town, they want things to do and see and hear. It's music, theater, graphic arts, all of those things are so important to a community's well being, especially from a tourism perspective,” he said in a separate interview Tuesday afternoon.

“The quality of the programs here is amazing, especially for what little money they have to operate. That's why we promote them.”

Cohen offered the Butler County Symphony Orchestra as an example of organizational fortitude and quality.

“How many communities this size have a full-time symphony? Probably no others,” he said.

Still the effort to convince others to invest in the arts is difficult.

He said, “The truth of the matter is, our state and federal government is broken. We don't get any money from the state today because they don't have any money to give us.

“The arts are vital to our economy. It is so necessary that these programs are protected and we don't lose these things. But, it's a hard sell when you're competing with school lunch programs and education projects. How do you fund the arts, too, when you run at a deficit each year?”

David Pankratz, also of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, deferred to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill when discussing investment in the arts.

During World War II, Britain's finance minister recommended to Churchill that the nation cut arts funding to better support the war effort. Churchill reportedly replied, “Then what are we fighting for?”