"Substantial compliance"

I'm curious if there is some wiggle room between that term and "full compliance" with the NOPD consent decree. The latter term is supposedly the trigger to begin the exit plan whereas the former is the goal the mayor's office has set for itself while implying that they are basically the same.

The contract extension means the federal consent decree -- a set of court-ordered changes for the police department -- will be in place for at least three more years. Exiting the consent decree requires Morgan to find NOPD in full compliance with mandates in the order, which has not yet happened. Once the judge finds NOPD is fully compliant, a two-year period of "sustained monitoring" must follow.

Landrieu said in a news release Friday his office expects the department to come into "substantial compliance" by the end of his term in 2018. If that happens, and the judge is later satisfied that the department remains in compliance during the two-year "sustained monitoring" period, federal oversight of NOPD will end.

The reason the mayor might be fudging is obvious.  Setting an artificial goal for 2018 allows him to add something to his list of end-of-term accomplishments even if the work isn't actually going to be done for a few more years at least.  Also, it's a thing to say we've gotten done in time for the Tricentennial. Which is good because when Bienville descends from the heavens at that time, perhaps he will judge us just a bit less harshly.