The Baltimore City Council will hold at least four oversight hearings examining the city’s response to its unprecedented overdose epidemic, two council members announced Monday.

Councilman Mark Conway announced that he had scheduled his previously announced hearing for July 10, where top officials under Mayor Brandon Scott are slated to testify.

Councilwoman Danielle McCray also called for a series of hearings into the city’s coordinated response to the crisis. She scheduled meetings for July 24, Aug. 28 and Sept. 25.

“I’m looking for the city to explain simply where we are, not how we got here,” said Conway, chair of the public safety and government operations committee.

McCray, also a Democrat who is the chair of the health, environment and technology committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. McCray has been a vocal advocate for the city to do more to address its overdose epidemic.

The Banner and The Times recently published a yearlong investigation detailing overdose deaths in Baltimore. Nearly 6,000 people have died from overdoses in the last six years, the worst drug crisis ever seen in a major American city.

Monday was the same day Scott announced a $45 million settlement with pharmaceutical giant Allergan, after Baltimore sued the drug manufacturer for helping to fuel the opioid addiction crisis.

In 2021, Maryland sued a series of pharmaceutical companies for their role in distributing opioids, netting $400 million in damages over 18 years. But city leaders opted out of the state settlement, choosing instead to pursue their own damages.

Conway said he will not allow public testimony at the hearing, in an effort “not to jeopardize” Baltimore’s litigation with other pharmaceutical companies.

Baltimore’s death rate from 2018 to 2022 was nearly double that of any large city, a statistic unknown by several top leaders, including Scott, until reporters informed them. Scott has been critical of the reporting, saying that The Times and The Banner’s reporting on the city’s response amounted to “misguided victim blaming.”

The epidemic is taking a disproportionate toll on older Black men in the city. One generation of Black men, those born between 1951 and 1970, have fatally overdosed at tremendous rates for decades. Homes for seniors now make up a disproportionate number of the top locations for overdoses.

Scott’s administration has pointed in the last two weeks to steps they are taking to prioritize the city’s overdose response, including through an office dedicated to opioids and an “opioid stat” database to track overdose deaths.

Asked about the potential for hearings last week, Scott said he “welcomes the oversight.”