It has been several months since the city of Salem was rocked with a financial scandal, allegedly involving some of its top officials, and at Tuesday's meeting the city council and the public found out that the damage is worse than expected.

City Manager Mark Jackson said the city is close to a million dollars in debt  because of mismanagement of funds by the previous administration.

One of the city's biggest debts is owed to PEIA, a state subsidized insurance company. The city owes the company more than $350,000 in back payments, dating back to March 2008.

The new administration is working to change not only how the city finances are run, but also how the city government conducts itself in general. Officials say it is going to take more than just those in Salem to fix their problems.

"I can't do this by myself. It's going to be a team effort," said Jackson. "I'm building my team. We have good people here. I can see thing are getting better already."

Jackson brought in the State Ethics Commission to work with the council members before Monday's meeting, teaching them proper ways to call and run meetings, and address other ethical issues the city has faced.