Waynesville passes State of Emergency ordinance A substantial crowd waits for a Waynesville Board of Aldermen meeting to begin. Cory Vaillancourt photo A routine update to the Town of Waynesville’s State of Emergency ordinance finally passed on Dec. 8 after being tabled for weeks due to an uproar among anti-mask citizens who embarked on a marathon series of public comment sessions in fear that the town was also planning to enact a mandatory mask-wearing edict. Such ordinances typically outline which municipal officials can declare a State of Emergency, and for what reasons. When that does happen, local governments can exercise emergency powers in an effort to let first responders address the situation.