I'll grant you that there are definite annual costs required to properly keep a pipe organ in superb playing condition. Besides the actual cost of the semi-annual tunings, there are, at least in my situation, also the heating/air-conditioning costs to maintain a fairly constant temperature range around the pipework.
One of our selling points with Allen was that there was "no routine maintenance" required ... and that was quite true. On the digitals, there is/was nothing to maintain or adjust on any regular basis. In digital terms it is either a one or a zero ... it works, or it doesn't. Of course, any of the analog components (amps, keying diodes, mechanical switches, etc) can go at any time - it's a nature of any electrical/electronic beast, be it a <shrug> Magnus chord organ or the John Wanamaker instrument.
Since churches in the US are not supported in any form by any government body, they must raise all their working funds (salaries, utilities, supplies, etc) by themselves. Unfortunately, little is left over for the purchase of a fine pipe organ ... hence, they are swayed to the electronic/digital world based solely on dollars and cents. Sad, but true. In my own church, 80% of the cost of the Möller pipe organ was paid for by recycling aluminum cans - we had a campaign called "Cans for Chords". The pastor at the time, Greg Adolf, though the largest pipe should have "Adolf Coors" painted on it ... no, we didn't :lol:. The Möller pipe organ was installed in 1979, and we still have the distinct honor of being the only Lutheran church in the region with a 100% pipe organ.
A church I played at years ago had a 5 rank Wicked (Wicks theater organ - horseshoe console, double touch, really wobbly trem, and a weeping Tibia) ... eventually, the organ required monthly maintenance and tuning, a cost the church would have rather not have to deal with. We had proposals from 5 pipe organ manufacturers: Casavant, Reuter, Schantz, Wicks, and Beiber (a regional builder). We also had proposals from 3 electronic firms: Allen, Rodgers and Baldwin. We had no more than $25,000 to spend ... this was in the early 70's mind you. Naturally, I was on the organ committee, along with four others, two of which were set on our buying a Hammond spinet and Leslie speaker cabinets. Lutherans, in the 70's, did not do Leslies ... we were known as God's Frozen Chosen in those days ... no gospel type hymns at all. :shake:
After a year of meetings and visiting lots of organ installations, the church committee , by majority vote, three to two, decided to recommend the Allen to the congregation and ask for a vote. As I recall, the contract was signed for $23,000.
At that time, we could have gotten about 13 ranks of pipes ... the Allen gave us 42 ranks, and the ability to have a full Antiphonal, too. So, versatility also comes into play too ... I'm not died-in-the-wool pipes ... I think the digital world in organs has made great strides, and certainly giving Allen a good ride for the money.