Ok, the original thread has sunk into neener neener land, and I never did get an answer to what I wanted to know.
How much should it cost for a content heavy web site with a large traffic base? Kitten Koder said one could be set one up for 5k for the equipment and 30 k for administration. I think that sounds silly, and I think that is based on what it would cost for a web page like the one we are on now.
I don't believe a government office web page would come in that cheap. But 3 million a year sounds way off the charts expensive.
So I am wondering what a content heavy web page would cost to set up, staff with researches and other such staff, and so on should cost and why.