MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Milwaukee officials are raising concerns about an increase in streetlight outages across the city, with the Department of Public Works pointing to wire theft as a major factor.

The issue was discussed Wednesday during a Milwaukee Common Council meeting as officials examined the growing number of outages and the cost of repairing damaged infrastructure.

DPW officials said thefts increased significantly during the late summer, with nearly half of the wire theft incidents reported over the past year occurring in August.

The problem has become costly for the city, requiring crews to replace stolen wiring and repair damaged streetlights.

"With labor and materials, it's been about $600,000," said Kevin Muhs, a city engineer with the Milwaukee Department of Public Works. "$650,000 over the past year, so it's picking up."

Officials said similar thefts have become a problem in cities across the country.

The discussion came one day after several people were injured in a crash near North 35th Street and West Center Street, where police said traffic signals were not functioning after being vandalized.

The growing number of outages has prompted additional concern about the potential safety impact for drivers, pedestrians and neighborhoods when streetlights or traffic signals are damaged.

City officials continue to look at the scope of the problem as DPW crews work to repair affected infrastructure.